The Seventh Olympian
by JayColin
Summary: SLASH AU - After the deaths of his parents, 15-month-old Harry Potter is left in the care of his mother's sister, Petunia. In another life, she might have hated her nephew… but in this one, she vows that nobody will harm her sister's boy. As for Harry, secrets regarding him when learned will dramatically change the course of his life forever. HP/TVD/Supernatural/Teen Wolf Crossover
1. Chapter 1

The Seventh Olympian

Written By J.C. Vascardi

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Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relates to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, and Teen Wolf are the property of their respective creators, publishers, and production companies. I'm not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone's copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books or other media.

Summary: After the deaths of his parents, fifteen-month-old Harry Potter is left in the care of his mother's sister, Petunia Dursley. In another life, she might have hated her nephew… but in this one, she loves him dearly and vows that nobody will harm her sister's boy. As for Harry, there are many secrets regarding him… secrets which when learned will dramatically change the course of his life forever.

Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Violence, Language, Canon Divergence, Crossover, Harem

Crossover: "Harry Potter", "The Vampire Diaries", "Supernatural", and "Teen Wolf"

Author's Note: Dudley Dursley has been renamed Darius Dursley in this fic. Also, this story will be entirely Harry Potter based throughout Harry's childhood and Hogwarts years. The crossovers with The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, and Teen Wolf will not come into play until Harry has finished Hogwarts and defeated Voldemort. To put things into context, most of the principal cast of Teen Wolf and the non-vampire characters on The Vampire Diaries haven't even been born yet. As for Supernatural, Dean Winchester is only twenty-months old and Sam hasn't been born yet.

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Chapter One

-o-0-o-

_**2 November 1981…**_

It was a normal evening on Privet Drive, a quiet street in the Little Whinging suburb of Surrey. Petunia Dursley and her husband, Vernon, were in bed, fast asleep, greatly enjoying the fact that their son, Darius Dursley, was now sleeping through the night. Petunia still kept a baby monitor in his nursery and another on the nightstand next to her bed, just in case, but she was glad that her son hadn't woken up in the middle of the night for a few months now. Still, even fast asleep, she had trained herself to wake at a moment's notice if her son needed her.

It was because of this that on this particular evening, when Petunia found herself waking up, she had thrown back her bed sheets, put on her slippers and was about to stand and put on her robe to go to her son's room when she realized that there wasn't a peep to be heard from the monitor. Putting on her robe, she made her way down to the nursery to check and she found her son still fast asleep and quite peaceful, as the colorful mobile over his crib slowly turned.

Stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her, she leaned against the wall for a moment and wondered just what had woken her up. She couldn't figure it out and was about to return to her bedroom when she glanced down the stairs and saw that it was unusually dark outside as if all of the street lamps were out. She would have put it out of her mind and just thought that the one across the street from her home had burned out when she heard the sound of a motorcycle.

Nobody on Privet Drive owned one, as far as she knew, and even if they did, they wouldn't disturb the peace by riding it at one-thirty in the bloody morning. Decision made, Petunia made her way down the stairs to investigate, fully intending to find out who was making all that racket and maybe even call the police to report them. Reaching the bottom step, however, she stopped dead in her tracks as she heard voices… right outside her house.

"Are you sure you want to leave him here, Albus?" a voice that Petunia instantly recognized asked. "I've been watching the house all day and the husband is the worst sort of muggle you could possibly imagine. I'll never understand what Petunia saw in him."

"Calm yourself, Minerva," a man's voice said, one that Petunia also easily recognized. "Petunia is the poor boy's only remaining family. It's only right that Lily's sister raises the boy now that she cannot."

Petunia's eyes widened at this and paying no mind to the fact that she was in her robe and slippers, she crossed the entryway, unlocked the door and threw it open, as the three people on her front porch jumped at the unexpected movement.

"What's happened to Lily?" Petunia asked, as she looked at her former Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress, who was standing on her front porch with the groundskeeper, who had a baby-shaped bundle in his arms. Eyes widening she asked, "Is that little Hadrian?"

Albus Dumbledore sighed and nodded. Before answering, he pulled out his wand and cast a Silencing Charm so that they could speak without anyone overhearing. "I'm afraid so, Petunia." He paused here for a moment, before he added, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, as there's never any easy way to deliver it, but I'm afraid that James and Lily are dead."

Shaking her head, unable to believe what she had just heard, Petunia asked, "Dead? What do you mean dead? How? They were in hiding, they were supposed to be safe... what happened?"

"Their secret keeper betrayed them," Minerva answered. "You-Know-Who broke into their home and I'm sure I don't need to tell you what happened next. Suffice it to say that James and Lily are dead." Moving forward and pulling her former student into a hug, Minerva said, "I'm so very sorry for your loss. The world is worse off without them in it."

Tears welled up in Petunia's eyes as she let herself be held for a moment by her former professor. "Oh Lily, no." After a moment, she stepped back from Minerva and asked, "How did Hadrian survive? Obviously, I'm thrilled that he did, but I can't imagine that fiend being content with just killing James and Lily when their son was his real target all along."

"I don't know how he survived, in truth," Albus said after a moment. "All I know is that James sent me the alarm warning that we'd arranged. I had just gotten into bed so it took me a few minutes to get dressed, but by the time I got there with Hagrid and Sirius, the front door was blown off its hinges and James was lying dead in the living room with his wand in his hand. We found Lily on the floor in the nursery, next to a pile of ashes. Little Harry was standing up in his crib looking down on his mother and crying."

"His name is Hadrian, Albus," Petunia said, almost automatically. She knew from the letters they'd exchanged just how much Lily despised that nickname that Hagrid had given her son because he found his real name too hard to pronounce. At this point, she moved past Minerva and held out her arms to Hagrid as she said, "Speaking of, I'd like my nephew now if you don't mind."

"Oh, a… of course," Hagrid said, as he moved Harry out of the sling he'd placed him in for the ride over to Privet Drive and handed the fifteen-month-old baby over to his aunt, who snuggled him tightly to her chest and closed her eyes for a moment, as she pulled the blanket a little closer to cover his face.

It was at this point that even in the darkness, she spotted the bloody wound on the baby's forehead. "What is that? And where's Sirius?" she asked, almost as an afterthought, as she realized that the motorcycle that she'd heard was her brother-in-law's best friend's bike.

"I wasn't there to witness what happened," Dumbledore began, "but from the tests that I ran on both Har…" at Petunia's sharp look, he amended, "Hadrian, the room, and on the ashes my hypothesis is that Voldemort tried to kill him. I'm not entirely sure how, but it seems that the curse Voldemort used on your nephew backfired, leaving him with only a scar and reducing the Dark Lord to a pile of ashes."

"You-Know-Who is dead?" Petunia asked, incredulously.

"Yes, he is," Minerva answered. "I'm surprised you haven't heard, Petunia. Our kind has been out in force celebrating almost all day now."

Vernon's complaints at dinner about a bunch of strangely dressed people congregating on street corners as he drove to and from Grunnings suddenly came back to her mind at this. She hadn't really been listening to Vernon, having mostly tuned him out as she concentrated on feeding Darius, but she had still heard snippets of his rant. She had just never equated it with witches and wizards out celebrating the death of the Dark Lord. She couldn't imagine they'd be that stupid. Yes, if true it was a good thing, but did they care nothing for the Statute of Secrecy?

"It's true," Albus confirmed. "The tests I ran on the ashes confirm that it was Voldemort and Severus reports that the Death Eaters are in disarray as they all felt it when he died. Or at least all those who bear his Mark. Speaking of, it's already starting to fade, as it's no longer dark black, but more of a medium gray. By this time tomorrow, I doubt they'll even be visible on the bearer's arms any longer, as they'll have faded away completely."

A moment later, Albus said, "As for Sirius, he said he had something to do and left not long after we found Lily's body. He left in such a hurry that he left his motorcycle behind. So I told Hagrid to use it to bring Harry here while I went to the Ministry and handled the necessary legal matters that presented themselves due to James's and Lily's deaths. You will need to visit the Ministry soon, of course, Petunia to sign a few papers as next of kin and Harry's guardian."

Focused on checking over her nephew to make sure that other than the ugly scar on his forehead that he was otherwise healthy, Petunia didn't correct the headmaster on the use of the nickname. Instead, she simply nodded and said, "Very well. I'll go tomorrow, assuming that Arabella can watch the boys for me. Now, it's getting quite chilly out here, so I think I should get Hadrian inside."

Pulling out her wand, which she'd placed in the pocket of her robe before going to check on Darius, she waved it silently in the direction of Sirius's motorcycle, shrinking it, before summoning it and putting both it and her wand in her pocket. "Should Sirius contact you, let him know that I've got his bike. I'm sure he'll want it back. Now, good night."

Without another word, Petunia turned on her heel and walked into the house, closing the door behind her. She lingered in the entryway for a moment, wondering how she'd explain this to her husband in the morning, but he was just going to have to suck it up and deal with it. As there was no way that she was going to not take in her orphaned nephew or give him the home and family life that he deserved.

-o-0-o-

Petunia did eventually go back to sleep, although her first stop was the upstairs bathroom where she attempted to heal Harry's still bloody lightning bolt shaped scar with magic. Much to her disappointment, however, the scar resisted any magical attempt to heal it. Living in a muggle neighborhood and having a muggle husband, she had taken the time to learn muggle first aid techniques, however. So since magic wasn't working, she instead washed the wound with water, applied a mild astringent, and then bandaged it. It would take longer than magic, but some treatment was better than nothing.

Leaving the bathroom, she crossed the hall to the nursery where she used wizard space to expand the room enough for a second crib to fit in the room. Placing Hadrian—who was by this time sound asleep—in the copy of her son's crib, Petunia leaned down and placed a kiss on her nephew's forehead.

"Sleep well, my little angel," she whispered before she left the room and headed back to the master bedroom so that she could get a few more hours of sleep before she had to get up to make breakfast for Vernon.

-o-0-o-

As it usually was every morning, Petunia was up, showered, and dressed before Vernon was even awake. Leaving the room, she went into the nursery and dressed Hadrian and Darius, making a mental note as she did so that after her trip to the Ministry she'd have to do some shopping for Hadrian. For the time being, however, she dressed Hadrian in one of Darius's outfits, before carrying them both downstairs. Obviously, they noticed one another and were reaching out towards the other, curious about each other.

The boys had actually met a couple of times, but it had been several months ago before James and Lily had gone into hiding under the Fidelius. So, Petunia wasn't really all that surprised that the boys seemed like they were meeting for the first time, as at only sixteen and fifteen-months old respectively, their memories weren't really fully developed yet.

Entering the kitchen, Petunia put Darius in his highchair, before pulling out her wand and conjuring a second one for Hadrian. Darius clapped his hands as the second chair appeared.

"Magic!" Darius said happily. It had been his first word, with 'Mama' following about a week later. Vernon hadn't been all that happy about that, especially since it had taken Darius another three months to utter the word 'Dada' for the first time.

Putting Hadrian in the second highchair, Petunia smiled at them and said, "Darius, this is Hadrian. Can you say, Hadrian?"

Darius cocked his head to the side, looking at his mom then at his cousin and then back at his mom. A little hesitantly, he asked, "Rian?"

"Well, it's certainly better than that other name," Petunia said, not about to say it aloud as she didn't want either boy to start saying it themselves. Lily had made it very clear in her letters that she had taken to using a Stinging Hex on anyone who said the name Harry around her son, as she did not want him to be known as that.

Turning to her nephew, Petunia smiled and said, "Hadrian, this is Darius."

"D-D-Dari-us," Hadrian sounded out in a rather halting tone.

"Oh very good," Petunia said with a smile. "You're cousins."

At this Hadrian looked at Petunia and looked curiously at her, before something obviously clicked in his head and he asked, "Ant Toony?"

Petunia smiled. "Well, we'll work on that, but I suppose it's close enough. Now, let's get you two breakfast," before she crossed over to the cabinet and got two clean bottles out of the cabinet.

Luckily for her, Petunia was aware of Lily's letters that Hadrian was on the same formula that Darius was, so at least feeding both of them wouldn't be an issue. Although she'd definitely have to buy more of it now that she had two mouths to feed instead of just one. Filling the bottles, Petunia cast a Warming Charm on each bottle, tested the contents, and then gave them to the boys who began happily sucking on them. That would tide them over for now, as she had to get breakfast cooked for Vernon, who she knew would be down soon as she heard the shower turn on. Then she could get them something a bit more solid.

Turning her attention back to the refrigerator, Petunia took out everything she'd need to prepare Vernon's breakfast. She still made him a full English breakfast, although she only made enough for a single helping of each item. Vernon, who had frequently partaken of seconds when they were offered—along with thirds and fourths if available— complained quite a bit, but Petunia shut him down. In addition to limiting his caloric intake, she also grilled or baked most of the traditionally fried foods that Vernon preferred.

Throughout their courtship, Vernon had been a very healthy weight and Petunia had no complaints in that department. After they'd married, however, Vernon apparently stopped caring about his appearance now that he had a wife and his weight skyrocketed. Petunia didn't mind a few extra pounds but drew the line when it began feeling like she had a walrus on top of her in the bedroom.

This is when Petunia put her husband on a very strict diet and exercise regimen. He complained incessantly, of course, but she didn't care as she had no desire to suffer from cracked ribs due to her husband's massive girth. Or be left a widow and single mother because her husband was intent on surrounding his heart with so much fat and filling up his arteries with so much plaque that he'd probably have a fatal heart attack before he was thirty.

Several minutes passed, during which Petunia heard the shower turn off. A few minutes later, Petunia was just plating up Vernon's breakfast and pouring him a cup of tea when he entered the kitchen and made his way over to the dining room table. He didn't comment on Hadrian at all, but Petunia wasn't surprised. Despite being able to shower and dress, Vernon was pretty much like a zombie most days until he'd had his morning tea.

Setting her husband's breakfast and drink down on the table in front of him, Petunia watched him pick up his cup for a second, before leaving the kitchen and crossing over to the front door to grab the morning paper from the front porch. She was back in less than two minutes, but while she was gone, Vernon had apparently drunk enough tea to be firing on more cylinders and noticed the second highchair.

Shaking his head, Vernon closed his eyes, and then touched his forehead when upon opening them he still saw two. "Petunia dear I think I'm going to have to call in sick today and go see the doctor. I'm seeing double."

Placing the paper on the table next to her husband's plate, Petunia said, "Don't waste the doctor's time, Vernon. There's nothing wrong with you as you should be seeing two occupied highchairs."

"I should?" Vernon asked. "Petunia, honey, last time I checked we only had one child."

"Well, we have two now."

"Why?" Vernon asked as he looked more closely and saw his son in one highchair and then saw the other child sitting in the other one, who had a bandage on his forehead. "Who is this kid?"

"It's our nephew, Vernon."

"Nephew?"

"Yes, as in my sister Lily's son."

"What is that freak doing here?"

No sooner had he said this, however, Vernon was gulping as Petunia whipped out her wand and held it so close to Vernon's face that he'd go cross-eyed if he tried to look at the tip.

"Vernon Charles Dursley," Petunia said in a sharp tone, "don't you dare call Hadrian a freak. I know you're still dealing with the whole magic is real thing, but that is no excuse to insult an innocent child."

"I won't have any freakishness in my house," Vernon said, as he tried to sound tough, although Petunia could easily pick up on the slight quaver in his tone which told her he was about to piss himself from the fright caused by a wand in his face.

"I'm going to say this one more time, Vernon, and only one more time," Petunia said. "So I suggest you listen and hear me this time because the next time you will not enjoy my reaction. Are you listening?"

Vernon nodded and Petunia said, "Magic is real and natural. There is nothing, I repeat, nothing freaky about it. And even if there was Vernon, Hadrian being here wouldn't change anything. You'd still have magic in the house because in case you forgot, I am a witch! And as I've already told you, Darius has already shown the early signs that prove he is a wizard. So I strongly suggest you get used to it!"

Vernon was quiet for a moment, as Petunia put her wand away. When he spoke, he asked, "Why is the boy here anyway? Isn't it a little early to be babysitting?"

"I'm not babysitting, Vernon. Hadrian will be living here from now on."

"You mean your sister and her lazy husband abandoned their kid?"

Both boys began whimpering slightly at the tension in the room, as Petunia said, "They did nothing of the kind, Vernon. And as I've already explained, James was not lazy. He was an Auror, a magical police officer. I'd hardly call it lazy when a person who doesn't need to work chooses to do so anyway. The Potters are so old money that they make most other old money families look nouveau riche by comparison."

Apparently not noticing that Petunia had been referring to James in the past tense, Vernon said, "But what else would you call it when they leave their child with their sister and leave, never to return? It certainly sounds like abandonment to me."

Petunia didn't respond right away, as she took the time to calm down the two whimpering boys, before enclosing them in a one-way Silencing Charm that would still allow her to hear them, but not allow them to hear what was going on outside of the charm's protective bubble.

With that done, she turned and faced her husband, a distraught look on her face, as she said, "Vernon, it's not abandonment when they're dead."

Vernon's eyes widened at that and he asked. "Dead?"

"James and Lily died on Halloween," Petunia answered. "They were murdered."

To his credit, Vernon quickly got out of his chair and pulled his wife into a hug, as he rubbed her back and said, "Oh God, Petunia, I'm so sorry." After a few minutes, as the two stepped away from the embrace, however, Vernon asked, "Do we need to worry about the murderer coming here to try and finish the job?"

"No, Vernon, we do not," Petunia answered. "The murderer is dead." After a moment's pause, in which she decided it was easier to lie to her husband than tell him the truth, she added, "He resisted arrest and made sure he wasn't taken alive."

"Well, that's good then," Vernon said. "That the filthy murderer is dead, that is."

"Indeed," Petunia agreed. "Anyway, with James and Lily dead, I'm Hadrian's next of kin, so I'm stepping up to take care of him."

"Of course," Vernon said in a somewhat distracted tone, which Petunia easily picked up on.

"And Vernon, before you start dreaming about buying a Porsche or some other extravagance with my nephew's money, I'd remind you that I was a witness when James and Lily wrote their wills a few months back. Everything goes to Hadrian, in an ironclad magically binding trust fund that even the Queen herself couldn't break."

Before Vernon could say anything, the doorbell rang, surprising both of them, as it was still very early for visitors. Leaving the kitchen, Petunia headed for the door and was surprised to see Mrs. Figg through the peephole. Opening the door, she asked, "Arabella, what are you doing here?"

"I've come to watch the boys for you, dear," Arabella said. "Albus asked me to come, said you needed to get down to the Ministry ASAP. Something about Sirius."

Before Petunia could respond, a silvery phoenix Patronus soared through the open door of Number Four Privet Drive and said, in Albus's voice, "Petunia, come to the Ministry. Urgent. I'll explain when you get here."

"The boys are in the kitchen with Vernon," Petunia said, even as she grabbed her coat from the hall closet. "There should be some apple sauce in the fridge that you can feed them."

"I'll take care of it," Arabella said, as she entered the house and closed the door behind her so that none of the neighbors would see it when Petunia Apparated away a moment later.

-o-0-o-

Petunia arrived in the Ministry Atrium moments later to find Albus Dumbledore waiting for her. Being met by the sitting Chief Warlock and newly elected Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards meant that Petunia was able to skip going through security, which was a good thing under the circumstances, because there was a queue of over thirty people waiting and it quickly became clear to Petunia as Albus explained the situation on their way to the lifts that time was of the essence.

"How can they possibly think to send him to Azkaban?" Petunia asked. "Without even the semblance of a trial? He's the heir of a Most Ancient and Noble House!"

"I'm afraid that the legislation that Director Crouch and Minister Bagnold rammed through the Wizengamot for dealing with Death Eaters allows them to do just that," Albus said sadly.

"That's just ridiculous," Petunia said. "Sirius is no more a Death Eater than you or I are."

"Bartemius and Millicent disagree," Albus said, as they exited the lift and moved towards the Ministry holding cells, where Sirius was currently being held but only because Dumbledore had been able to tie up the processing of the transfer order... his interference wouldn't last long, however. "They say that Sirius murdered a dozen muggles and Peter Pettigrew."

"That's impossible," Petunia said. "I understand that the Black family's reputation is probably not doing him any favors, but Sirius is not like the rest of his family. Anyone with a semi-functioning brain can tell that after spending even five minutes with him."

"Quite true," Albus agreed. "I'm afraid, however, that the evidence is quite damaging. The Aurors found Sirius at the scene of the crime, wand drawn, next to the crater caused by the explosion. Surrounded by the still burning bodies of several muggles and Peter's finger. That's all of him that they could find."

Shaking her head, Petunia said, "I don't believe for a minute that Sirius would cast a spell to cause an explosion in a muggle-populated area. Even if that rat Peter did deserve to die."

Albus didn't say anything in response to this, as at that moment they entered the holding area to find a team of Aurors, Minister Bagnold, and Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Bartemius Crouch, Sr.

Upon seeing Albus walking into the room, Minister Bagnold said, "Albus, what is the meaning of this? Why did you slow down the processing of Mr. Black's transfer order?"

"I believe you mean Heir Black, Minister," Albus said. "Because in case you forgot, with the deaths of his father and brother, Sirius is the official Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. I wouldn't be doing my job as Chief Warlock if I didn't point out the fact that you cannot legally send the heir of a noble house to Azkaban without a trial. Are you trying to get thrown out of office, Minister? Because I guarantee you that's what will happen if the Lords of the Wizengamot find out that you sent an innocent man—one of their own—to Azkaban without trial."

"Black is not innocent, Albus," Bartemius said. "He was caught red-handed at the scene of the crime. It's obvious that Mr. Pettigrew must have confronted him in anger for betraying James and Lily Potter to You-Know-Who."

"With all due respect, Director Crouch," Petunia said. "That is not at all obvious since it's not even remotely true."

"Who are you?" Millicent Bagnold asked as she looked at Petunia.

"Petunia Dursley, formerly Evans. Lily was my sister and as such I know for a fact that Sirius Black did not betray James and Lily, because he wasn't their Secret Keeper. Peter was!"

Shaking his head, Bartemius said, "That's not possible. The Ministry record is very clear. Sirius Black was the Secret Keeper of the Potters."

"Except that he wasn't, Director," a new voice said, as Algernon Longbottom, the Deputy Head of the Unspeakables, walked into the room. "At Albus's request, I checked the records in the Department of Mysteries vaults. I'm sure you're aware that we have charmed books going back to the era of Merlin himself which automatically record the details of every single Unbreakable Vow, Fidelius Charm, or similar spells that are cast anywhere within Albion jurisdiction."

"I'm aware of that," Bartemius said. "But your Head of Department has already stated under Veritaserum that the book recorded Sirius Black as the Secret Keeper."

Algernon nodded. "Of that, I am not surprised, Director Crouch, considering that Director Malachi is currently bound and gagged in his office and being held at the wand point of a dozen of my colleagues. Magical testing shows long-term and repeated uses of the Imperius Curse on him, not to mention the fact the residual signatures of both Veritaserum and its antidote were found in his bloodstream. The latter signature being the weaker of the two, meaning he drank the antidote first."

"What are you saying?" Millicent asked.

Shaking his head, Algernon said, "I'm saying, Minister, that there is clearly an agent working against us here at the Ministry. Somebody who had access to Director Malachi often enough to keep him enthralled under the Imperius. Our department security wards would not allow that spell to be cast inside the department, so it had to be have been done outside of the Ministry, most likely at some point after the Director left work for the day."

"What makes you think this agent works here at the Ministry?" Bartemius asked. "You just said that the curse wasn't cast at the Ministry."

"You're right, I did," Algernon confirmed. "However, unlike the other Ministry departments, the Department of Mysteries does not publicize who the Head of the Department is. Only somebody who works at the Ministry and has high-level access to internal Ministry communications would be aware that Throgmorton Malachi was the Head of the Department of Mysteries."

"Was?" Albus asked.

Nodding, Algernon said, "Yes, I'm afraid there's no way that Throgmorton will keep his position. Unspeakables are supposed to undergo daily meditations designed to make us immune to mind control, including the Imperius Curse. The fact that Throgmorton was able to be placed under it at all means that he wasn't performing the meditations, which are mandated by department protocol dating back to before the founding of the Ministry. And since he was under the curse long-term—our best guess is at least the last ten years—there's no telling how much top secret information might have been compromised or what other actions he might have taken under the curse's influence."

"I'm sorry about your internal issues, Deputy Director Longbottom," Petunia said. "However, can we please get back to the matter at hand? I will not stand here and let my nephew's godfather be sent to Azkaban for a crime I know he did not commit. I was the one who cast the Fidelius Charm for James and Lily, so I know for a fact that they selected Peter Pettigrew as their Secret Keeper, not Sirius Black."

"Even if he wasn't the Secret Keeper," Millicent said, "Heir Black is still guilty of using magic in the open in a muggle-populated area in flagrant violation of the Statute of Secrecy. Not to mention the deaths of twelve muggles and Peter Pettigrew." Seeing that Albus and Petunia looked like they were about to object, Millicent held up her hand and added, "Even if Peter was the Secret Keeper, that did not give Heir Black the right to take the law into his own hands and play vigilante."

"I understand that he shouldn't have taken the law into his own hands, Millicent," Albus said. "However, one must take his state of mind into account. His best friend in the world, who was more like a brother to him than his own brother was, had just died along with his wife. I sincerely doubt that Sirius was thinking clearly enough at the time to realize that he should call the Aurors."

Petunia nodded. "Especially considering that when the idea of James and Lily hiding under the Fidelius first came up, James was adamant that Sirius be their Secret Keeper. The only reason that they went with Peter instead was that Sirius himself convinced James not to use him because he felt that he was much too obvious. Which is also, incidentally, why James and Lily did not choose me."

Before Millicent or Bartemius could respond, Algernon said, "Pardon me for interrupting, but has Heir Black been interrogated under Veritaserum yet? Was Priori Incantatem used on his wand? Do we know for a fact that he's the one who cast the Blasting Curse?"

"You're suggesting that Peter blew himself up?" Bartemius asked. "I find that hard to believe. Especially considering that all we could find of Peter was his finger. There are multiple eyewitness accounts from muggles in the area who before they were Obliviated said they saw Heir Black moving his stick, as they called it, in a threatening manner in Peter's direction."

"They also said that Heir Black was shouting at Peter and saying that he should have died," Millicent added. "Under those circumstances, it was decided that it wasn't necessary to question Heir Black, as he was clearly the aggressor."

"And you don't think Sirius had a right to be shouting at Peter?" Petunia asked, incredulously. "I know Sirius. He would have died to protect James and Lily and would have believed that Peter should also give up his own life to keep their friends safe. So if Sirius was shouting at Peter that he should have died, I can't say that I'm surprised."

Petunia paused for only a moment, before adding, "Deputy Director Longbottom brings up some very good points, however. Eyewitness testimony is good, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't question Sirius or check to see what the last spell that his wand cast was." Taking a deep breath, she added, "Also, you should be aware of the fact that Peter Pettigrew could very easily have been the one to cast the Charm and frame Sirius for the crime."

"How can you be so sure?" Millicent asked.

"Because I know for a fact that Peter is an unregistered Animagus," Petunia said. "I've seen him transform with my own eyes, so I know that he can take the form of a rat. Faced with the prospect of life in Azkaban with the Dementors or losing a finger, I don't find it even the slightest bit far-fetched that Peter would prefer to cut off his own finger and escape over being captured and sent to Azkaban."

"If you knew that he was an unregistered Animagus why didn't you report it the Ministry?" Bartemius asked.

Before Petunia could answer, however, Albus said, "Let's not waste time with stupid questions, Bartemius. You know as well as I do that Animagus Registration is completely voluntary and that there are no laws that require anyone who finds out about a given Animagus being unregistered to report it."

"That'll be the next legislation that I put before the Wizengamot," Millicent said.

"That's assuming they don't censure and remove you from office first," Albus said. "Which I guarantee they will do if they find out that you didn't do the due diligence of questioning Heir Black under Veritaserum and checking his wand to make sure that he actually is guilty of what you're accusing him of before sending him to Azkaban. And don't give me the eyewitness line, Millicent. If you honestly believe that the mostly pureblood Lords of the Wizengamot will be willing to take the testimony of muggles into account, especially in a case that would see one of their own going to prison without a trial, you're not nearly as intelligent as I thought you were."

"Fine, fine!" Millicent exclaimed as she threw her hands up in resignation. "Director Crouch, check Heir Black's wand." Turning to the team of Aurors, she said to them, "One of you fetch a vial of Veritaserum from the Ministry stores."

"That won't be necessary, Minister," Algernon said, as he reached into a pocket of his robe and pulled out a vial of the truth serum. "Something told me that I should come prepared."

Half-an-hour later, Sirius Black was released from custody, cleared of all charges and apologized to profusely by Millicent Bagnold when a check of his wand clearly showed that the last spell he cast was, in fact, the Lumos Charm, not the Blasting Curse. His questioning under Veritaserum also not only confirmed that he was not the Secret Keeper for James and Lily, but that Peter Pettigrew was the one who cast the Blasting Curse, after cutting off his own finger and casting a Tickling Hex on Sirius that made him start laughing maniacally so that he wouldn't be able to tell the Aurors what happened when they arrived and would instead look like a crazy man who was gleefully laughing about committing mass murder.

"Thank you for helping get me cleared, Petunia," Sirius said, as they were walking towards the Atrium together.

"What else would I do, Sirius?" Petunia asked. "When I know for a fact that you're not responsible for James and Lily's deaths? I couldn't live with myself or face Hadrian again if I knew that I allowed his mostly innocent godfather to go to prison for a crime I know he didn't commit."

Sirius grinned at that description, before he asked, "How is Hadrian? He's safe?"

"Last time I saw him?" Petunia asked. "He was safe in my kitchen with Vernon and Arabella Figg, who Albus got to watch him and Darius so that I could come here and save your sorry arse."

"Sorry arse?!" Sirius exclaimed, his face contorting in a look of mock outrage. "I'll have you know that there is absolutely nothing sorry about my arse."

Shaking her head, Petunia said, "The state of your arse, Sirius, is between you and Remus. I don't need nor want any details, thanks."

Trusting Albus and Algernon to ensure that Sirius's questioning was handled properly, Petunia had gone upstairs while it was being done and signed all of the necessary papers she needed to sign to become Hadrian's legal guardian of record. Now turning to look at Sirius, she added, "You and Remus should come by and see Hadrian soon."

"Count on it," Sirius said.

"Oh and in case it should interest you, Number Five is for sale."

"Number Five?" Sirius asked, a confused look on his face.

"Number Five Privet Drive," Petunia answered. "It's been vacant for over a month now, as the current owner got a promotion at work that saw him and his family moving to Edinburgh." At Sirius's dawning look of comprehension, Petunia just smiled and said, "Just thought I'd mention it, in case perhaps you and Remus were to decide you wanted to do something with that information."

Reaching the Apparition Point, Petunia prepared to leave, before she remembered something else. "Oh and Sirius? I have your motorcycle at my house, so I guess you have another reason to visit as if Hadrian wasn't enough."

Sirius grinned and nodded, but any response he might have had was not heard as Petunia Apparated away, anxious to return home and check on her boys.

-o-0-o-

By the end of Hadrian's second week on Privet Drive, there was a moving van parked out front of Number Five Privet Drive. Within seconds of Petunia's departure from the Ministry, Sirius was Apparating to Gringotts, meeting with his account manager, and arranging for an offer to be made for the house on his behalf. He realized, after the fact, that he maybe should have discussed it with Remus first, but with the offer already made it was too late to worry about that.

Thankfully for Sirius, Remus wasn't upset with him when he was told about what his partner had done. In fact, he greatly approved of the idea of living next door to Hadrian and being able to not only keep an eye on him but also just see him frequently.

Once they got the news that the offer was accepted and the contracts were signed—expedited with both magic and the goblins' contacts—they went about furnishing and outfitting their new home. Including using wizard space to enlarge a pair of small cupboards in the basement, which were heavily warded for not only silence but also security. One of them was turned into a fully stocked Potions laboratory and library, while the other would serve as a dueling and practice room. The latter room also had a secured cell built into it, where Remus could be locked up on the full moon.

Meanwhile, at Number Four, Petunia had been busy in the two weeks since taking in Hadrian. The day after going to the Ministry to deal with the Sirius issue, she went shopping and bought more clothes for Hadrian to wear so that he wouldn't have to share with Darius. She also bought other necessities like more formula and baby food. One thing she didn't have to buy were nappies, as the one use of magic that even Vernon didn't complain about was Petunia using magic to vanish the contents of Darius's and now Hadrian's nappies. This resulted in substantial savings since they could use reusable cloth nappies over the disposable variety.

Petunia also visited what remained of the Potter Cottage in Godric's Hollow, to see if anything there could be salvaged. She did manage to salvage a few albums of family pictures and a few other odds and ends. Unfortunately, when Voldemort's spell backfired there had apparently been a large backlash of magic, as Hadrian's former nursery looked like a bomb had gone off, with half the outside wall and the roof being blown out in the explosion. It was honestly amazing that Hadrian had escaped with just a scar… which had still not gone away, despite Petunia's attempts to heal it. It had, at least, sealed now and wasn't bloody like it was when Hadrian had arrived in her care.

Of course, the far more sad duty that Petunia had as the next of kin was to make arrangements for a memorial service for James and Lily and to see to their internment in the Potter family's mausoleum on their Welsh estate. Since Darius and Hadrian were too young to understand what was going on anyway, neither one of them was present at the memorial, which was probably a good thing as there had been plenty of people in the days leading up to it that suggested that they were really only coming to meet The-Boy-Who-Lived. Once Petunia put out the word that he wouldn't be present, however, many of those people chose not to attend.

Another happening was Petunia being called into Gringotts for a meeting with the Potter family's account manager, Scarclaw, who informed her that as the legal guardian for Hadrian, she would be collecting 800 Galleons a month—or £4,000—from the Potter estate until he turned seventeen in order to pay for his expenses. She would gladly have not accepted the money, just happy to be able to care for her sister's child, although the money certainly went a long way towards getting Vernon on board with keeping Hadrian.

Vernon's first instinct had been to agree with his sister Marge, who had given her opinion on the matter via a telephone conversation with her brother. While she did express her condolences to Petunia on her loss, it had been in a somewhat less than heartfelt manner not that that surprised Petunia because she'd long suspected her sister-in-law didn't have a heart. Marge's advice had been to wash their hands of Hadrian by dropping him at an orphanage and being done with the matter.

Petunia, of course, had absolutely no intention whatsoever of doing that and had it been necessary, she would have used magic on Vernon to keep him compliant to her will. She didn't want to, but she would have if it proved necessary. The money from the Potter estate only being collectible so long as Hadrian remained in Petunia's custody, however, was enough incentive for Vernon to agree to keep the boy. Of course, much to Vernon's disappointment, Petunia had the money deposited into her Gringotts vault, which not being a wizard, Vernon had no access to. Still, the fact that none of his money would be going to care for a child that wasn't his had mollified him enough to not complain.

Over tea and biscuits one afternoon while Vernon was still at work and the boys were having their afternoon nap, Remus asked, "I mean no offense, Petunia, but what do you see in that man?"

Petunia could understand why Remus had asked that. "None taken. I understand that Vernon isn't the most agreeable man at times. Still, despite his faults, I do love him and I wouldn't have my darling Darius if it wasn't for him."

Another reason which Petunia had learned not to mention was the fact that Vernon was her soulmate. There were far too many people in the magical world who refused to believe that muggles were capable of having soulmates or the soul marks that went with them. There were only so many times that she could take being scoffed at and called stupid for believing what she knew to be true, before she just stopped mentioning it.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Sirius commented, "but didn't you and Vernon get married just over three years ago now?" Petunia nodded. "How is it that he's not used to you being a witch yet?"

"Well, I might have neglected to mention it to him," Petunia said. "Under the Statute of Secrecy, I would have been legally able to tell Vernon about magic once we were married, but I didn't. So I simply didn't use magic in his presence and didn't tell him about it until after Darius had shown his first sign of magic… which wasn't until just over two months ago."

"Oh I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that," Sirius said with a grin. "I can only imagine Vernon's reaction."

"Yes, it was a bit extreme," Petunia said. "I expected it might be, however, so I took the precaution of warding the house so that he could scream to his heart's content and the neighbors—and Darius—wouldn't hear him. The last thing I needed was one of the neighbors calling the police for a wellness check because they thought Vernon was abusing me. Of course, I only let him carry on for about ten minutes before I put my wand in his face and laid down the law."

"I'll bet Vernon was rather frosty with you for the next few days," Remus said, as he took a bite of a chocolate biscuit.

"A bit," Petunia said. "Although in truth, Vernon is actually very used to the women in his life taking charge. His late mother was a very domineering woman who basically ruled his childhood home with an iron fist. Vernon's sister Marge is much the same way, so he's had either his mother or his sister practically ruling him his entire life. One would think he'd want to escape that kind of thing, but I think that even if he never would admit it, he actually likes it."

"Well, to each their own, I suppose," Sirius said after taking a sip of his tea. "Personally, I couldn't deal with someone else running my life for me. It's part of the reason why I ran away from home because my mother is a very domineering woman herself. Thankfully, she considers me to be a blood traitor and has burned me off the family tapestry, so she hasn't tried to contact me nor have I attempted to contact her. I'm perfectly happy for it to stay that way."

"I've never spent much time with her," Remus said. "But from what I've heard, I won't be losing any sleep over not having a relationship with my mother-in-law."

"Be thankful for that Rem," Sirius said. "She wouldn't like you anyway, as just as she views muggles and muggleborns with disdain, she also hates people with your furry little problem. If she had her way, all muggles, muggleborns, and werewolves would be culled."

"She sounds like a perfectly lovely woman," Petunia said. "Not." Shaking her head, she then added, "To his credit, Vernon hasn't ever said that all witches and wizards should be culled. He doesn't understand magic, which is understandable since he's only known it was real for two months and is leery about it as a result. But he's never said that Darius and I should die because of it."

"I wouldn't say that because I don't believe it," Vernon said, as he walked into the kitchen from the living room.

"Vernon, I didn't hear you come in," Petunia said, as she looked at the clock and said, "You're home earlier than normal."

Vernon nodded. "Mr. Grunning gave me the rest of the afternoon off as a reward after I landed a particularly large order. Plus a raise and an extra week of vacation time." Leaning down to kiss Petunia on the cheek, he then said, "I freely admit I'm not fully comfortable with the whole magic thing yet. I do not, however, wish you, Darius, or anyone else dead, Petunia."

"Well, that's good to know," Petunia said, as she motioned towards Sirius and Remus and said, "This is Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. They're the new owners of Number Five. They both went to school with James and Lily, and Sirius is Hadrian's godfather."

Vernon looked at the two men and said, "I take it that means they're your kind then?"

"If by 'your kind' you mean wizards, then yes," Remus said.

Sirius grinned and said, "Yes, funny how being a witch or wizard is a requirement to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"So you two are housemates?" Vernon asked.

"They're a married couple, Vernon," Petunia said. "And yes, before you say it, I understand it's not legal here in the muggle world. It is, however, legal in the magical world because with the aid of magic, it's possible for same-sex couples to have children together."

Vernon's eyes practically bugged out of his head at this as he looked at Petunia and asked, "Are you trying to say that wizards can… can…"

"Get pregnant?" Remus guessed is what Vernon was trying and failing to ask. This got an affirmative nod from Vernon, prompting Remus to simply say, "Yes, they can."

Shaking his head, Vernon said, "I'm so glad I'm not a wizard."

Sirius grinned. "Well, it wouldn't really matter if you were or not. Just being a wizard isn't enough, after all. Considering that you're married to Petunia, I'm guessing you're straight, at which point you wouldn't be able to get pregnant anyway. Just like in the muggle world, pregnancy does still require sex. So wizards who don't want to get pregnant just have to refrain from having sex with another wizard."

"I'll take your word for it," Vernon said, before he quickly changed the subject, asking Petunia how her day was.

Sirius and Remus stayed for a few more minutes, long enough to finish their tea and biscuits, and then excused themselves as they headed back over to their house. Vernon, meanwhile, headed into the living room to see what was on television while he was normally at work, while Petunia did some cleaning and checked on the boys, before getting started on dinner.

-o-0-o-

Two days later, Petunia and Vernon were in the living room watching television while Darius and Hadrian were in the nearby playpen, playing with a pair of wolf plushies that Sirius and Remus gave them. With the exception of some rather raucous celebrations, all had been pretty quiet in the wizarding world since the defeat of Voldemort a few weeks ago, but everyone in the Order worried that it might be the calm before the storm. As Albus and several of the elder members of the Order, including both Mad-Eye Moody and Aberforth Dumbledore, agreed that even without a leader to unite them the remaining uncaptured Death Eaters could still cause problems.

Just as the show they were watching broke for commercial, a silvery fox darted into the room, causing Vernon to jump, as it spoke in a voice that Petunia recognized.

"Need help. Pinned down. Death Eaters are attacking. Fab and I outnumbered."

Even as Petunia stood, a second, identical fox darted into the room and said in a similar, yet different voice, "You forgot to give our location, Gid. Our house! Come quick!"

Pulling out her wand, Petunia waved it over her muggle housedress, transfiguring it into sleek white battle robes emblazoned with a phoenix. "Watch the boys, Vernon. Stay away from windows and don't answer the door, no matter who it is, until I get back. I've warded the house to the hilt, so you should be safe, so long as you stay inside."

"What's going on?" Vernon asked. "Who are Fab and Gid? And who are these Death Eaters?" More to himself, he asked, "How the hell do you eat death? And why would you want to?"

"Death Eaters are followers of James' and Lily's murderer," Petunia said, as she quickly added a few extra protective charms on the doors and windows, in addition to the powerful wards that already existed on the house, including very powerful blood wards that she'd helped Albus Dumbledore setup when he'd discovered that Lily had performed an ancient blood ritual that would give Hadrian extra protection if she died to protect him, so long as he remained with her blood. "It's like a cult. I'm a member of a group that opposes them and helps their victims, along with Gideon and Fabian Prewett."

Before Vernon could say anything more, Petunia turned to him and said, "I have to go. Do as I said, Vernon. I'm trusting you to look after Darius and Hadrian, if they have even a scratch on them when I get back, I'm holding you responsible."

Vernon nodded. He could see that he wasn't going to convince his wife not to go, so he just said, "I love you, Petunia."

Petunia smiled. "I love you too," before she used her connection as the master of the wards around Privet Drive to open a small enough hole that she could Apparate through them, closing it the second she was through.

-o-0-o-

Moments later, Petunia appeared a quarter of a mile away from Gideon and Fabian Prewett's house in the small wizarding village of Helga's Grove, about a mile outside of Bristol. Even from this distance and being just past sundown, she could see the thick black smoke in the distance, suggesting that the Death Eaters had set fires. She didn't charge in, however, as she knew she'd arrived inside the meet-up window and had gone to the closest rendezvous point to the Prewett house. Albus had been very clear with the Order members that even when responding to a distress call that nobody should go in alone with no reinforcements to back them up.

She didn't have to wait long, as within seconds of her arrival there were several pops as she was joined by Sirius, Remus, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Benjy Fenwick, and Caradoc Dearborn. Only a few seconds later, Albus, Aberforth, and Mad-Eye Moody appeared, as well.

Nodding, at the group, Albus said, "Aberforth and I will stay here for five more minutes, in case any additional reinforcements arrive. The rest of you, you know what to do."

With nods, they set off in the direction of the Prewett house, all of them having disillusioned themselves so that they'd be able to get closer unseen by the attacking forces, in addition to a spell that would allow them to run the rest of the way much faster and in a fraction of the time.

What they found upon arriving on the main thoroughfare of Helga's Grove—the whole village consisted of exactly three streets, two residential, one commercial—was nothing short of chaos. Multiple storefronts had their front windows broken out, the glass littering the cobblestones. Flames and smoke poured out of the buildings and the Order members saw more dead bodies then they liked. Several Dark Marks were shining in the sky above the village, as more than one of the Death Eaters had apparently sent them up, casting a sickly, green pallor over everything in sight. The remaining uncaptured Death Eaters definitely seemed determined to make this one of the most brutal attacks of the war.

Taking charge of the situation, Moody said, "Benjy, Caradoc, you're our medics, start checking the bodies. Help any survivors you can. Frank, Alice, help me get these fires out. Petunia, Sirius, Remus, head for the Prewett house and help Gideon and Fabian."

"Are you sure dividing up our forces is wise?" Frank asked. "Do we even know how many are attacking the Prewetts?"

"I've already scanned the area," Moody said, his magical eye spinning quickly in every direction. "There's seven attacking the Prewett house and a few lone stragglers on the other streets. Gideon and Fabian are at their house, with Marlene and Dorcas by the looks of it. I don't know if they were with the twins when they sent their Patronuses, but considering it's their boyfriends, I can see them going in ahead of any help."

"They were probably already there," Alice commented. "Marlene told me she's pretty sure that the twins are preparing to pop the question to her and Dorcas."

"Aye, well, let's see that they live to do it," Moody said. "Now go. And remember… Constant Vigilance!"

Petunia, Sirius, and Remus made their way towards the twins' house without another word. As they got closer they could see Gideon, Fabian, Dorcas, and Marlene valiantly holding their own against seven Death Eaters. Petunia suspected that Alice was wrong about Dorcas and Marlene already being in the house when the attack began, as despite being outnumbered the four of them were doing a good job of defending one another, while Gideon, Fabian, and Marlene each dueled with two Death Eaters at the same time.

Without a word to each other, Sirius, Remus, and Petunia came up behind the group and just as they dropped the Disillusionment Charms, they each sent a silent stunner at the backs of one Death Eater each. As their colleagues went down, it only made the remaining four Death Eaters fight all the harder, however, and not long after the four stunned Death Eaters went down they were revived by their compatriots, as one or two of the stragglers that Moody had mentioned joined the fight.

The next few minutes were intense, as the seven Order members battled against the nine Death Eaters. It was more difficult because of the edict from Albus that they do not use lethal force against the Death Eaters. Dead enemies couldn't provide any information about deployments or plans. And Albus also loathed the idea of taking any life, always wanting to see the best in everyone and thinking that even the seemingly vilest people can change if only given the chance. Petunia could see the appeal in wanting to believe that, but she couldn't help but think the Headmaster was being naïve, not that she'd ever say it to his face.

Of course, Petunia also didn't say anything because she knew that there was another very good reason not to kill the Death Eaters. As they were all wearing masks to hide their identities, none of the Order members knew who was who. And they didn't want to risk killing their most recently acquired new asset… double agent Severus Snape, who'd decided to turn spy for the Order after Lily died. He'd still have to fight with the Death Eaters, however, if he was going to avoid suspicion and be able to feed information to them from the inside.

About ten minutes after they'd arrived, Albus and Aberforth joined the battle, along with Newt, Tina, and Theseus Scamander, Queenie Kowalski, and Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel. Several people in the Order had voiced concern about trusting Queenie when she first joined the Order near the start of the war… considering that she'd fought alongside Gellert Grindelwald in her youth. Albus was adamant in his trust for her, however, and she had proven herself in the time since.

Unfortunately, the Order wasn't the only ones with reinforcements inbound, as not long after Albus and the others arrived, the temperature noticeably dropped as a pack of at least fifty Dementors flew in. Soon after, Remus shuddered, as a loud howling noise pierced the night, sounding like it came from about half a mile to the east. The initial howl soon being answered by at least ten more… although that was only a guess as the Order members were far too busy fighting to get an accurate count.

While the Patronuses of the Order members managed to drive off the Dementors, by the time they had, Fenrir Greyback had arrived along with nearly two dozen werewolves, another ten Death Eaters and three vampires.

"Oh bugger me," Sirius mumbled, just before the ground shook and the Order's eyes widened in horror as they realized that the Death Eaters had also brought some of their giant allies.

"Fall back!" Albus called out, even as the Order began a strategic retreat to the Prewett house which was one of the few buildings in sight not in flames.

"I don't think so," one of the Death Eaters said, as they raised their wand and said, "_**Avada Kedavra!**_"

Nicolas Flamel summoned a large stone from a nearby stone fence that one of the giants had broken when they stepped on it and used it to block the spell, as it hit the stone and was redirected harmlessly into the ground. This only made more Death Eaters cast it, knowing that the Order members couldn't possibly block all of them. Nicolas, Perenelle and Tina did an admirable job of trying, however, even as one Killing Curse shattered a rock put in its path, sending a jagged piece of rock hurtling in Petunia's direction, where it grazed her left cheek before she could react.

Thankfully, Caradoc, Benjy, Frank, Alice, and Moody chose this moment to arrive, along with two dozen Aurors under the command of Senior Auror Rufus Scrimgeour. The giants were also soon encouraged to disengage from the battle and move away when Hagrid arrived on the scene, along with his mother, the Giant Chieftainess Fridwulfa and her honor guard. Even with the giants taken out of the picture and the new reinforcements, however, the Order was still outnumbered, as more Death Eaters arrived on the scene at the same time.

Several of them had already tried to use their emergency portkeys, but the Death Eaters had apparently erected an Anti-Portkey Jinx, so that combined with the fact that the entire village of Helga's Grove was under an Anti-Apparition Jinx—which is part of the reason why Petunia and the others had met up a quarter mile outside of the village and ran instead of Apparating—meant a quick withdrawal wasn't happening.

"Spread out!" Aberforth called out, realizing that if they all remained too close together it would be far too easy for the Death Eaters to surround them and then they'd be toast. Even as he said this, he broke from his brother's preferred methods of using only stunners and binding charms, as he conjured a ball of fire and sent it flying into the Death Eater ranks, forcing them to jump to the sides to avoid being incinerated.

The Order, the Aurors, and the Death Eaters continued battling for the next several minutes. Things got especially tense a few times due to Director Crouch having cleared the Aurors to use the Unforgivables if they deemed it necessary. Apparently, a few of them deemed it necessary as the green mist of the Killing Curse left a few of the Aurors' wands and headed for the Death Eaters, who used nearby rocks and other debris to block them the same way the Flamels had.

From his position about thirty feet away from her, where he was fighting back-to-back with his brother, Gideon's eyes widened in horror, as he shouted, "Marlene, watch out!"

Unfortunately, it was too late, as two such deflected Killing Curses—one cast by an Auror and the other by a Death Eater—slammed into the back of Marlene McKinnon, who had been in the process of standing back up after she'd accidentally tripped on one of the small rocks still littering the ground from the giants' previous attacks. It had been obscured enough by tall grass that Marlene, unfortunately, hadn't seen it until her right foot made contact with it.

"NOOO!" Gideon shouted as he watched helplessly as his girlfriend dropped to the ground. His eyes practically as red as his hair with fury, Gideon sent an arc of lightning out of the tip of his wand at the nearest Death Eater.

The pitched battle continued on, as more Death Eaters fell, some dead, others stunned and imprisoned in transfigured cages. The cages were the work of Albus, who transfigured some of the rocks littering the battlefield into cages to imprison the Death Eaters he stunned before they could be revived. Between Albus disarming them and the fact that he'd used a variant of the spell that would only allow him to unlock or banish the cages, those he imprisoned in such a way were, while still living, very effectively removed from the battle.

The Death Eater that Gideon electrocuted had managed to erect a shield that blocked most of the damage, but now he was clearly angry and cast a spell of his own at Gideon. One which revealed his identity as none other than Antonin Dolohov, as the spell he chose was a well-known signature of his… an extremely dark curse that conjured purple fire. Mere seconds later, Gideon, while doing his best to erect a shield before the spell could hit him, screamed in pain as the spell hit him in the chest, only partially blocked by his shield. As Gideon went down, a second blast hit Fabian in the chest, who'd turned around at his brother's scream.

"_**Expelliarmus! Stupefy! Incarcifors!**_" Albus incanted, ripping Antonin's wand out of his hand and imprisoning him in a transfigured cage. At the same moment, Sirius ducked a Killing Curse that one of the Death Eaters sent his way… and because he ducked, it found a new target in Dorcas Meadowes.

Only seconds later, a shout of, "_**Bombarda**_!" could be heard from one of the Death Eaters, sending a Blasting Curse flying at the feet of Benjy Fenwick who'd been running over to help Gideon and Fabian. Several more explosions followed at various points all over the battlefield.

Sending a wave of healing energy out of the Elder Wand at the incapacitated but still alive Prewett twins, Albus scanned the battlefield and noted that he couldn't see Caradoc Dearborn or the Longbottoms. As his eyes fell upon the dead bodies of Marlene and Dorcas, a woman's scream filled his ears, as Petunia screamed as she was hit by the Cruciatus Curse. Something about the pitch of Petunia's voice, combined with seeing the dead bodies of the two women on the ground made Albus flashback to that fateful day well over fifty years ago when Ariana died.

Out of the corner of his eye, Albus could see that despite their best efforts, the Death Eaters and their allies were close to having them surrounded. Not wanting any more of his allies to suffer, Albus raised the Elder Wand and waved his arm in a wide arc as he turned in place, and incanted, "_**Protego Diabolica!**_" Within seconds of the incantation leaving Albus's lips, a circle of black flames erupted from the ground, surrounding him and his allies, and cutting off the Death Eaters' advance.

From the Death Eaters' side of the flames, a surprised voice called out, "The great Albus Dumbledore, the so-called Leader of the Light, using the Dark Arts? I never thought I'd live to see it."

"You forced my hand," Albus called out. "And if you're at all familiar with this spell, then you know that those of you who can still run had better do it fast. I'll give you ten seconds. Ten… nine..."

There was a laugh at this, "You're bluffing. You don't have it in you, Dumbledore!"

"You really want to test that?" Albus asked. "Seven… six…"

It was at this point that Albus could feel the Anti-Apparition Jinx fall, followed by several pops as some of the Death Eaters fled the scene. "Five… four…"

"Cowards!" the Death Eater shouted, as he came up to just outside the ring of flames and removed his mask, revealing his identity as Thorold Mulciber, one of Voldemort's very first Death Eaters, and one of his most loyal and ardent supporters, second only perhaps to Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Actually, I think they've got the right of it, Thorold," Death Eater Thackeray Nott—whose mask had been shattered by some debris hitting him in the face earlier in the battle—said, as he stepped up next to Thorold. "We should go."

"Yes, you should," Albus said. "Three… two…"

At the last possible second, Thorold Apparated away… but not before pushing Thackeray forward into the flames, prompting him to scream as he was reduced to ashes within a matter of seconds. His scream did, however, convince several more Death Eaters to flee the scene and those who didn't, left very quickly after Albus sent tendrils of flame flying out in their general vicinity. Not quite close enough to touch them, but still enough that they could feel the heat and probably shit their pants.

"They're all gone now, Albus!" Nicolas shouted a moment later. "We're safe and we can Apparate. So drop the spell before it destroys Helga's Grove and Bristol right along with it!"

A second later the flames died down, although even with the Elder Wand it took some doing for Albus, as the spell hadn't been all that far from breaking out of his control and going wild. While it was a protective spell in that it wouldn't harm the allies of the caster, it was still classified as dark, because it was an offshoot of Fiendfyre, which was notoriously hard to control.

This version was easier to control, but even the most accomplished of wizards couldn't control it forever. It got easier the more times one cast it, but since this was only the second time that Albus had ever used it, much longer and Helga's Grove, Bristol, and their respective occupants would probably have been ashes. Because once the spell wasn't being controlled by anyone, it would burn everything it touched… including the caster and their allies.

"Gideon and Fabian need medical attention," Petunia said, as she came over and knelt beside them. They were still breathing, but they were unconscious. Their shirts were burned off and they each had a large, nasty-looking burn mark on their chests.

A second later, Fawkes appeared and landing so that he was standing half on Gideon's shoulder and half on Fabian's, he knelt his head down and began crying on the burns, which soon healed as if they'd never been there in the first place.

Fawkes let out a sad trill when they didn't immediately wake, prompting Perenelle to step forward and swish her wand, as she tested them. "They've gone comatose and are dangerously close to death. They'll need to be taken to St. Mungo's immediately if they're going to survive the night."

"Fawkes?" Dumbledore asked, prompting the phoenix to nod ever so slightly before stretching his wings and disappearing in a flash of fire, taking the twins with him. Dumbledore then sent his Patronus to St. Mungo's after them, to tell the healers who the patients were and what spell they'd been hit with.

The remaining members of the Order stayed for a while longer to finish putting out the fires, using magic to repair as much of the damage as they could. Meanwhile, the Aurors went around to Albus's cages and bound all the occupants in tight ropes before Albus banished their cages. A total of twelve Death Eaters were headed for Azkaban that night, including Antonin Dolohov, Walden MacNair, Thornton and Finnegan Rowle, and Igor Karkaroff.

Albus had actually captured thirteen Death Eaters, but one of them was spared Azkaban, as when their mask was removed it turned out to be Severus Snape, who Albus had arranged a full pardon for due to his new position as a spy. A few of the Aurors weren't happy about having to release a Death Eater, but there was nothing they could do about it, as the new Head of the Department of Mysteries had given Severus a status which while it didn't make him an Unspeakable, it did protect him from prosecution for any action he undertook with the Death Eaters so long as he remained an undercover spy for the Order of the Phoenix.

Of course, in order to keep up Severus's cover, he was taken to the Ministry holding cells with the other Death Eaters. With each Death Eater sequestered in separate cells which didn't allow any of them to see the others that had been captured or hear anything going on outside of their cell, it was safe and easy to open Severus's cell and release him.

-o-0-o-

The following morning, Molly and Arthur Weasley could be found sitting in a waiting room at St. Mungo's, along with their two eldest children, Bill and Charlie. The rest of the kids were back home at The Burrow with Arthur's parents. Also present were Molly's older brother, Bilius, and their father Amadeus Prewett, whose elder half-brother, Lord Ignatius Prewett, was also in the room, along with his mother, Muriel.

"What in Merlin's name is taking so long?" Muriel complained. "I swear in my day there was more respect. Healers didn't leave worried families sitting in a waiting room for hours without any updates."

"I'd rather they do everything they can to save Gideon and Fabian," Amadeus said, "then come in here and give us updates every five minutes."

Before Muriel could say a word, a healer walked into the room and asked, "Are you here for Gideon and Fabian Prewett?"

Standing up, Amadeus nodded, and said, "Yes, I'm their father."

"Your sons are out of danger," the healer replied. "We've stabilized them and they're no longer in danger of dying."

"Can we see them?" Molly asked.

The healer nodded. "You can, but I'm afraid they haven't woken up yet." With a sigh, the healer said, "My colleagues believe it would be best if they be moved up to Ward 49 on the fourth floor."

"Ward 49?" Ignatius asked. "That's the Janus Thickey Ward, is it not?"

"Yes, it is. With the right spells, potions, and a bit of luck, they may wake up eventually, but I'm afraid our best spell damage specialists agree that it's not likely to be anytime soon. Moved up to the long-term care ward, we can keep them comfortable and monitor them for any sign of improvement, while also trying to figure out the best course of treatment."

"If you think that's best," Amadeus said, as he collapsed into a nearby chair, with a defeated sigh, as Bilius reached over and squeezed his father's shoulder.

"Will they ever wake up?" Bill asked from where we has standing next to the arm of his father's chair, one arm wrapped around his brother Charlie's waist. Gideon and Fabian were only eight years older than Bill and ten years older than Charlie. It was perhaps because of the relative closeness in their ages that Bill and Charlie both considered Gideon and Fabian to be their favorite uncles. They liked Bilius and their dad's brothers, but Gideon and Fabian were the cool uncles.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that with any certainty, young man," the healer said. "We'll do our best, however."

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

And there you have Chapter One of 'The Seventh Olympian'. As you can see, this story definitely diverges from canon in that Petunia is a witch and determined to give Harry a good childhood. It's also quite different in that Sirius never went to prison… so that pretty much invalidates the entire Prisoner of Azkaban arc.

The first few chapters of this story will focus on Harry's childhood, so you'll get to see him grow up and attend Hogwarts. Although, there will definitely be changes to his school years, not the least of which due to the fact that Dudley or Darius as he's named in this fic, will be attending Hogwarts with him.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my LiveJournal (JayColin), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at .


	2. Chapter 2

The Seventh Olympian

Written By J.C. Vascardi

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Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relates to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, and Teen Wolf are the property of their respective creators, publishers, and production companies. I'm not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone's copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books or other media.

Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Background Het, Violence, Language, Canon Divergence, Crossover, Harem

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Chapter Two

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_**12 June 1982…**_

Sirius Black rather disliked leaving his happy home on Privet Drive with his husband in order to attend the monthly meetings with his grandfather, Lord Arcturus Black. However, with the deaths of Orion and Regulus Black, Arcturus had had little choice in the end but to name his grandson as his heir, even if some members of the family, namely Sirius's own mother, strongly opposed it.

Sirius didn't really have much interest in being the heir, or Lord Black when his grandfather eventually passed away, although as Remus had pointed out to him, there was a silver lining. As it had been Sirius's status as the heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black that had allowed Dumbledore to slow down the processing of the order transferring Sirius from the Ministry holding cells to Azkaban, long enough to bring his innocence to light. Sirius had to admit that was definitely one reason to be happy about the status.

He'd also be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy imagining his mother's continued ire over it. Nor could he deny just how big of a smile doing so put on his face. Not nearly as much of a smile as what Remus or Hadrian could elicit, but a smile nonetheless.

Arriving at Arlington Grange, the Black family ancestral mansion in Northern England, Sirius knew almost immediately after being greeted at the front door by head house-elf Kallix and shown to the drawing room that this wasn't going to be a normal family business meeting. The first most obvious reason was that all the previous meetings he'd attended since becoming the heir had been in his grandfather's study, not the main drawing room.

Another big clue was that there was a tea service sitting on a side table, instead of the Firewhisky that Arcturus normally offered during these meetings. The most obvious clue, however, was that his grandmother, Lady Melania Black, was sitting on the couch next to her husband. While Melania did take care of most of the family's social engagements, she rarely took part in meetings regarding family business. She had very little interest or knowledge in the areas of finance or business, so there really wasn't much of any substantive value that she could offer on either front.

It was shortly after Sirius had sat down in a chair across from his grandparents and Kallix fixed him a cup of tea, however, that Sirius really knew that something was up, as it was at this point that his other grandparents—his mother's parents—Pollux and Irma Black turned up. Sirius resisted the urge to sigh, as he took a sip of his tea, instantly knowing that the normal topics of discussion that usually filled these monthly meetings with his grandfather were very likely not on the agenda.

Deciding to state the obvious, Arcturus looked at his grandson and said, "I trust you've figured out by now that this isn't one of our normal monthly chats, Sirius. We will still be having that later, but first, we do have a bit of family business to discuss that isn't related to money, our various holdings, or politics in general."

Nodding, Sirius said, "Yes, I figured that. So, even though I'm almost afraid to ask this, what's up?"

"I know you've never been all that keen on being the heir," Arcturus said. "Despite that, however, you have been doing a very admirable job in fulfilling all of the duties of that role."

"With one exception," Pollux said.

'_**Oh Merlin, here it comes,'**_ Sirius thought.

"Giving us great-grandchildren," Melania and Irma said in almost perfect unison.

"And more importantly, a male Black heir to follow you, Sirius," Pollux added.

"Yes, that is one area in which you have been woefully underperforming," Arcturus said. "Which I honestly do not understand because you're young and you're married. So I fail to see what the problem is."

Closing his eyes briefly, as he prayed to all the gods for strength, as he really didn't want to be discussing his sex life with his grandparents, he nodded and said, "Without going into too much detail, I can assure you that Remus and I have a very healthy relationship and the problem is not in any way physical."

"Then what precisely is the problem?" Pollux asked. "You have a duty to this family, Sirius. You are the only male Black under the age of fifty who is likely to produce the next generation of male Blacks. All of us," as he motioned towards himself, his wife, along with his cousin and his wife, "are at an age where the last thing we want is to be bringing another child into this world."

Irma nodded and said, "And I'm sure I needn't tell you that since your brother died childless, as did your Uncle Alphard, and the fact that our other son, Cygnus, has only daughters, two of which have married into other noble houses, it's unlikely that he's going to provide the much needed Black heir to carry on the family after you."

"I understand all of this," Sirius said. "As I said, however, it's not a physical issue. The problem is that Remus doesn't want children."

"In Merlin's name, why?" Melania said. "You're both young and very attractive. Your children would be gorgeous."

"While I appreciate that vote of confidence, grandmother," Sirius said, "the reason is because of his monthly affliction. He's afraid that if we have children, they'll inherit his lycanthropy."

"Ah, I had wondered if that was the reason," Arcturus said. "Especially since your harpy of a mother spent an hour yesterday in my Floo shrieking yet again about me making you my heir. Calling you a blood traitor and bemoaning your cursed halfblood mutt of a husband. Once again pleading with me to name Pollux as my heir, with Cygnus to follow."

"Which wouldn't work very well," Pollux added, "since Cygnus is fifty-three and while Druella is technically still in her childbearing years, Narcissa's birth was very hard on her, which is why she and Cygnus never attempted to have a son. So, it's unlikely they'll decide to have another child at this point, especially now that all three of their daughters have made them grandparents."

"And of our four grandchildren, only two of them are sons," Irma added. "And both of them will be the confirmed heirs of other noble houses, which eliminates them as viable options."

With a sigh, Arcturus said, "Perhaps I have only myself to blame for this, as I am the one who caved to your grandmother and granted my permission for you to marry Remus, despite his affliction. But she was adamant that I allow you to marry for love, rather than political expediency."

Left unsaid, was the fact that Melania was a Macmillan by birth and was thus from a traditionally light-aligned house, which is why she didn't really have any reservations about Remus being a werewolf. There was certainly a lot of prejudice in the wizarding world about that issue, from all sides of the ideological spectrum, but the Macmillans and Melania were definitely on the more accepting side. Not to mention that after sixty years of marriage, Melania knew all of the right buttons to push to get her husband to agree with her on pretty much everything.

Accepting that what was done was done and knowing that suggesting to Sirius that he divorce Remus in favor of a more suitable spouse—not likely considering that Remus was literally Sirius's soulmate, which had been another reason beyond Melania's manipulation of her husband that Lord Black had signed off on the marriage—or barring that even having a discreet affair and passing the child off as legitimate was likely to be a losing battle, Pollux said, "There is no research, to the best of my knowledge, which says that lycanthropy can be passed on through any means other than being bitten."

Sirius nodded. "True, but then considering the extreme levels of prejudice that werewolves face in our world and the draconian laws which force them into poverty and third-class citizen status, there haven't exactly been many studies conducted on that topic. Nor do most people ever bother to seek out werewolves and ask that question. Of course, all the laws make it extremely unlikely that most werewolves would be willing to sit down and answer any questions."

"I take it that Remus doesn't have any werewolf friends that he could ask?" Melania asked.

Shaking his head, Sirius said, "No, I'm afraid he doesn't. He does have a group of people which he considers to be his pack, but he's the only werewolf in it. He was bitten as a child and his parents wanted him to have as normal of a childhood as possible, so they did everything they could to ensure that, which included not seeking out other werewolves his age for him to socialize with. Honestly, about the only werewolf that Remus is definitely aware of is Fenrir Greyback, since he's the one that turned him, and I don't see him being receptive to answering any questions."

"Not that you'd even allow it even if he was," Arcturus said, as he knew his grandson well enough to know that much. "You'd introduce Fenrir to the business end of your wand with several particularly nasty and potentially lethal curses before you'd ever allow Remus to sit down and have a conversation with him." Shaking his head, he added, "Not that I blame you in the slightest, because he is not any sane person's idea of pleasant company."

"Indeed," Pollux said with a shudder as he remembered the one social event he'd attended that Fenrir had been invited to. Once was enough for him to pretty much get blacklisted by all of society, as not only was he very rude with not even a semblance of proper manners, but he also very loudly complained about the lack of raw meat on offer. And when the host of the event tried to mollify him by having the house-elves bring him a platter of raw fish and steak, he showed atrocious table manners by tearing into it with his teeth and devouring it like he hadn't eaten in days.

Irma shuddered as well, as she said, "Yes, he certainly didn't make a very good impression. I swear at one point I seriously thought he was going to jump up onto the table while eating."

"I assure you that Remus has far better manners," Sirius said. "He's perfectly well-behaved most of the time. And thanks to his marriage to me, he has unlimited access to the Wolfsbane Potion, as I have both the skill to brew it and the money to afford the expensive ingredients. We've also outfitted our new house in Surrey with a secure cell in the basement that he can be locked into each month. Although that's more out of an over-abundance of caution as with the potion, he really is as harmless as the most docile breed of dog you can think of… well, assuming you haven't done anything to make him mad at you."

"Over-abundance of caution or not," Pollux said. "It's probably for the best since you two decided to move into a muggle neighborhood. Remus would look very out of place to your neighbors if they saw him on the night of the full moon."

"True," Sirius conceded. "I don't imagine that most muggles often see wolves who walk around on two legs, except perhaps in their horror movies."

After a moment's pause and a drawn-out sigh, Sirius said, "Look I know it isn't exactly the same thing, but until I manage to convince Remus to have children, could you consider making due with my godson?"

"Hadrian Potter?" Pollux asked. "That's why you moved to that muggle neighborhood, isn't it? To be close to him?"

Sirius nodded, but before he could say anything, Irma asked, "Why aren't you and Remus raising him by the way? His parents are dead and as you just said, you are his godfather."

"I am, however, he's living with Lily's sister now," Sirius answered. "In case you weren't aware of it, Petunia is not only his aunt but also his godmother. Besides, can you honestly say that you think the Ministry would have been willing to place a baby in the care of me and my werewolf husband?"

"Point taken," Irma said.

After a moment, Sirius said, "Anyway, Hadrian could actually be Lord Black one day. He might not have the name, but he does have the ancestry."

Shaking his head, Arcturus said, "Sirius, please think, will you? Your godson is Hadrian Potter. _**Potter.**_ As in the only remaining living member of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. How, pray tell, do you expect him to ever be a viable Black heir? He may have the ancestry, but he's the next Grand Duke of Cambria, for Merlin's sake. He can't be Lord Black, as that would make him the vassal of the Grand Duke of North Anglia."

"Oh," Sirius said, sounding a bit embarrassed. "I hadn't thought about that."

"Obviously," Arcturus muttered.

"Yes, I've never really had a head for politics," Melania said. "But even I know that it wouldn't work for someone who is a Grand Duke in their own right to be the vassal of another Grand Duke."

"Well, there is another option," Sirius said. "You might not realize this, but Hadrian is actually a Black through both of his parents."

"Both of his parents?" Arcturus asked. "I was under the impression that Lily Potter was a…" he paused for a split second, before finishing, "…muggleborn."

"Well, she was, technically," Sirius confirmed. A small part of him wanted to be angry at his grandfather for the hesitation before saying muggleborn, but a larger part realized that he was an old man set in his ways, so for him to actually stop himself mid-sentence and refrain from saying mudblood was a sign of progress. Certainly a step his mother would never take. "Her mother was a muggle and for many years it was believed that her father was a muggle as well since he did not have magic. However, when Petunia was in her fifth year, Professor Flitwick assigned a project to his Charms class for the first time which has now become an annual project for his fifth-year students."

"The family tree chart," Arcturus said, having heard about Professor Flitwick assigning that project through his place on the Hogwarts Board of Governors. "Some of the governors aren't exactly thrilled with that project, considering that it uses blood magic to trace one's lineage."

Sirius nodded. "Professor Flitwick only asked the class to trace their lineages back two-hundred years. Of course, some students, many of them Ravenclaws—like Petunia—decided to try for extra credit by going further back. Originally, she'd only planned on going back an additional fifty years, but she was fascinated by the magic and knowing that her father had always been interested in genealogy, she decided to go even further back. In so doing Petunia found a direct connection between her father and a squib son of our family: Asterion Eduardus Black, born 1598, died 1714."

Smiling at his two grandfathers, Sirius added, "He's the five-times-great-granduncle of your Grandfather Phineas."

Everyone in the room was quiet for a moment before Arcturus stood up and left the room. While he didn't actually say where he was going, it wasn't much of a leap for anyone to figure out where he'd gone. They all knew that he was going to the family tapestry room. All of the noble houses had a room dedicated to the display of a large tapestry which detailed their family trees.

The main difference between the one at Arlington Grange and the one at Sirius's mother's house was that the one at Arlington was the original and charmed to display the entirety of the family tree dating back to the Black family's earliest roots, over two thousand years ago. The one on the wall at Grimmauld Place, however, was merely a copy of the one at Arlington and only showed the most recent seven generations of the family. So, whenever the first child of a new generation was born, the oldest generation disappeared from Grimmauld's tapestry to make room for the new one.

Of course, another difference between the two was that Walburga frequently burned people off the Grimmauld tapestry and while she liked to think that meant they were no longer members of the Black family, she didn't have the authority to actually disown anyone. Only Lord Black could actually disown people and much to his daughter-in-law's ire, he had never disowned most of the people that Walburga had burned off. So, Pollux's squib younger brother, Marius, along with Sirius, Andromeda, and their Uncle Alphard were all still prominently displayed on Arlington's tapestry.

It was nearly half-an-hour before Arcturus reappeared in the drawing room, as it had taken a bit of time to find the line in question. Due to the fact that Arlington's tapestry covered every single branch of the family dating back more than two thousand years, it was mostly the main line of the family that held the lordship and the closest branches to it that was displayed. Many of the other far more junior branches—such as the branch sired by fifth-born son Asterion Eduardus Black three centuries ago—were magically hidden to save space, but there was a spell to temporarily reveal those lines if one needed to check someone's claim of relation.

Sitting back down, Arcturus nodded and said, "Sirius was telling the truth. Petunia Dursley and the late Lily Potter are both of Black descent, through their late father. By extension, so are their respective sons, Darius Dursley and Hadrian Potter."

"I wouldn't make something like that up, Grandfather," Sirius said. "But I understand that you had to see for yourself. In looking, however, I assume you noticed that Asterion Eduardus Black's wife was a squib daughter of House Crabbe and that his grandson married a halfblood daughter of a junior branch of House Macmillan. So Petunia, Hadrian and Darius are distantly related to all four of you."

"Hmm," Pollux said. "While Hadrian isn't a viable Black heir, his cousin Darius is. If he assumes the lordship, he would have to provide at least one son with the surname Black, but he does have the necessary ancestry to be viable."

Arcturus nodded but remained silent as Melania stood up from her place on the sofa. Seeing the look on his wife's face, Arcturus said, "I know that look, Melania. You're up to something."

Melania just smiled serenely at her husband but remained silent as she walked over to the fireplace and grabbed a pinch of Floo Powder, which she threw into the flames, before calling out, "Walburga Black, Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Londinium, Britannia, Albion."

Usually, when somebody placed a Floo Call it was the person doing the calling that placed their head in the flames, but Melania decided that for her thorn-in-her-side daughter-in-law, she'd use the privilege due her rank of Lady Black and make Walburga do it.

It took a few minutes, but finally, Walburga's head appeared in the flames. It took a moment for her to glance up and see Melania towering over her, at which point she said, "Oh, it's you."

Arcturus visibly bristled at the blatant disrespect audible in Walburga's tone, but before he could comment, Pollux said, "Walburga Lycoris Black, you will address the Lady Black with more respect in your tone. Do I make myself clear, young lady?"

Walburga's eyes widened slightly and Sirius couldn't help but chuckle at the look on his mother's face when she realized that her father was in the room and had heard the disrespectful tone she'd used when addressing her mother-in-law.

Before Walburga could say a word, Irma said, "Don't think for a moment that I've forgotten how to perform the Stinging Hex in my old age, Walburga, or that I won't send one through the Floo at you. Now apologize to Lady Black immediately."

"I apologize for my rudeness, Lady Black," Walburga said. She was clearly doing her best to hide the disdain in her voice that she'd always harbored for the outlander who dared to call herself Lady Black. Walburga was a Black by blood, unlike Melania, and ever since she'd married Orion, the previous heir, she'd made a point of making sure that Melania never forgot it. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"Oh, Walburga, my dear, dear, daughter-in-law," Melania said, "on this extremely rare occasion, talking with you is far more pleasurable for me than I can even put into words."

Not giving Walburga a chance to respond, Melania pressed on. "I understand that you were shrieking at my husband for an hour yesterday about his decision to put your son ahead of your father as heir."

"My son is dead, as you well know," Walburga said.

Coming up behind his wife, Arcturus shook his head and said, "We've talked about this before, Walburga. Just because you blasted Sirius off your copy of the family tree doesn't mean that he ceased to exist."

Not being able to pass up the chance to rile his mother, Sirius grinned and said, "Yes, I'm still quite alive and well," before he stood and moved to a position in the room where she couldn't possibly not see him as he gave her a little wave and said, "Hello mummy dearest," in the most sarcastic tone he could muster.

Melania laughed at that, before she said, "Anyway, Walburga, you'll be most displeased to hear, I'm sure, that not only does your father not want to be the heir, but even if he did, he's not the next-in-line anyway."

"Orion and Regulus are dead," Walburga said. "So my father…"

"Is not next in line, Walburga," Pollux interrupted. "As much as you might like to pretend that Sirius never existed, the fact of the matter is, he does. So, with Orion dead, Sirius is the next in line, end of story. But, even if he was dead, was never born, or was somehow ineligible, I still wouldn't be next."

"And how precisely do you figure that, Father?" Walburga asked. "Arcturus only has two children and Orion is dead. Lucretia can't inherit because the title follows male-only primogeniture and she has no sons who can inherit it through her, as her husband Ignatius is sterile so they never had any. And even if he wasn't, they'd be Prewetts."

"You're right, Walburga," Melania said. "The letters patent for the family titles do specify male-only primogeniture. However, we've found a viable option in the family tree should Sirius not have children. The connection to the main Black line is too far back for it to appear in your copy of the family tapestry, but through a junior branch sired by the five-times-great-granduncle of Phineas Nigellus Black, there is a current option in one Darius Dursley."

"Dursley?" Walburga asked. "That's not a wizarding name!"

"Yes, you're right, it isn't," Melania said with a smile. "He's the halfblood son of a muggle father and a witch mother. He also has some very impressive connections, considering that he's the first cousin of the future His Most Royal Highness Prince-Elector Hadrian Potter, the Grand Duke of Cambria. Hadrian has a stronger connection to the Black family then Darius, as he's related on both sides of his family instead of only through his mother, but needs must. Should Sirius not provide a male heir, then Darius Dursley will be the Black heir. So put that in your pipe and smoke it," before she closed the Floo connection and pressed the button on the mantelpiece that would lock down the Floo to all incoming calls.

Everyone was silent for a moment, as Melania turned towards the others and said, "Oh I enjoyed that."

"Good job, gran," Sirius said as he raised his hand, prompting Melania to give him a high-five, as she shared a laugh with her grandson.

"We still expect grandchildren, Sirius," Pollux said after they'd both calmed down. "However, we'll agree to not pester you about it for now."

"Although if you and Remus are still dragging your feet by the time young Darius starts Hogwarts, we will revisit this conversation," Irma added.

"Don't make me pull rank and order you to procreate," Arcturus said. Shaking his head, he said, "Anyway, enough of this topic. Come with me to the study, Sirius. We have other matters to discuss."

Rolling his eyes, Sirius mumbled, "Oh joy."

-o-0-o-

Several hours later, Sirius appeared in the front hall of Number 5 with a soft pop. Like it usually was, the meeting with his grandfather was long, tedious, and not for the first time he found himself hoping that old Arcturus would live another fifty years at least so that he wouldn't have to take over as Lord Black.

'_**Of course, that would mean another fifty years of long, tedious and boring as fuck meetings…'**_ Sirius thought, with a heavy sigh. _**'Oh damn it. I can't win.'**_

"When you're done with your latest 'just got home from an heir meeting' pity party," Remus's voice reached his ears, "I've uncorked a bottle in the living room."

Sirius smiled as he made his way over to the living room to find Remus curled up on the sofa in front of the electric fireplace. It had been expensive, but neither of them was well-versed enough in the necessary spells to feel confident with the results, so they'd hired a team of Gringotts goblins to come to their new house when they'd moved in and shield everything electrical so that it could function around magic without exploding.

Of course, the goblins had also warded the house at the same time, including adding a fireplace to the basement of their house which was hooked up to the Floo Network. Of course, it wasn't an open connection, so simply knowing the address wasn't enough to gain entry. You also had to know a special password, thus allowing Sirius and Remus to control who could and couldn't access their home via the Floo, using a bit of magic that meant only they could give out the password. The wards on the Floo wouldn't allow activation if somebody had the right address and password, but hadn't been told by Sirius or Remus. The goblins had also charmed a window in the conservatory so that it would keep out the elements and look and feel like glass to a muggle, but would still allow an owl to fly through it unharmed.

Sitting down on the sofa next to Remus, Sirius leaned over and kissed him, before asking, "So what are we drinking tonight?"

"Well, you were gone longer than normal, so I figured it must have been a particularly stressful meeting. So I went with the Châteaux Lavoisier 1593."

"Good choice," Sirius said. "Mum would have a coronary if she saw us drinking that just the two of us. She'd think it should have been saved for a dinner party."

"Well, we've got several cases of it downstairs, I think we can spare the occasional bottle for a relaxing night in."

Sirius nodded, as Remus poured two glasses and gave one to Sirius who swirled the contents in the glass for a moment, sniffed it, and then took a sip, closing his eyes as he did so. A moment later, he nodded and said, "That's good."

Generally speaking, Sirius was more of a Firewhisky or other spirits drinker, but he had to admit there was definitely an appeal to curling up on the sofa with Remus and just enjoying a bottle of wine after a long day.

After a few minutes of silence, in which they both enjoyed their drink, Remus finally asked, "So, is there a reason you were gone longer than normal? Honestly, I was starting to get a little worried."

"I'm sorry," Sirius said as he leaned over and placed a kiss on Remus's left temple. "As for why, grandfather and I had a late start to the normal meeting."

"Why?"

"Because he decided to ambush me first, along with Grandmother Melania, Grandfather Pollux, and Grandmother Irma to ask me why I have been neglecting one of my duties as Heir Black."

"Which one is that?"

"Having kids," Sirius said, causing Remus to cough slightly and almost spit out the sip of wine he'd took just before his partner spoke.

Sirius reached over and patted Remus's back for a moment before he began rubbing it in small circles. Setting his wineglass aside, Remus locked eyes with Sirius.

"Did you say, kids?"

Nodding, Sirius answered, "Yes. All four of my grandparents decided to gang up on me and grill me about why you and I haven't had children yet. They simply couldn't understand why two healthy young men have been married for just over five years now and haven't had children yet."

Remus groaned at this. Not only because of his own fears about parenthood but also because he didn't want to imagine having that kind of conversation with his grandparents.

'_**Thankfully, they're no longer living,'**_ Remus thought. It felt very strange to him to be thinking that. It was definitely the first time that particular thought had ever crossed his mind and he almost instantly felt guilty about it. Still, the idea of his grandparents confronting him about his sex life… that was just… he couldn't even think of the words to describe it.

It took several minutes before Remus found his voice, but when he did, he asked, "What did you tell them?"

"I made it clear as diplomatically and vaguely as I could that there was no physical reason. Of course, they kept pressing, so I'm afraid I did end up throwing you under the bus."

Remus sighed. "Well, I guess I can't exactly be angry with you for that. I know that it is more or less my fault that we haven't had children." Shaking his head, he added, "I just don't want to pass on my curse to an innocent child."

Putting aside his wineglass, Sirius pulled Remus into a hug and said, "I know and I love you for it. For the time being, I did get them to back off by sharing the Black connection that Petunia found in Lily's and her family tree. They did, however, make sure to let me know that this issue will be revisited in the future if we haven't had children yet by the time Darius starts Hogwarts."

Sirius was quiet for a moment, before he said, "Grandfather Arcturus told me point blank not to make him order me to have children. While he didn't actually say as much, the threat there is obvious to anyone aware of his power as Lord Black."

Nodding, Remus said, "Yes, he has the authority to annul our marriage and force you to marry someone else if you refuse to comply."

"I love you and only you, Remus. The thought of being with anyone else makes me physically ill."

"I appreciate that Siri, but are you sure you'll still feel that way a few years from now? I know you've said that you're okay with my not wanting kids, but you're so good with Hadrian and Darius. I've seen how your face lights up around them."

"I do like children, yes, and I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about having one of my own. But, if I have to choose between having a child and being with you, the choice is easy. You'll always win, babe."

Remus kissed Sirius, but then said, "I don't want you to have to choose though. I want you to be happy and I'm afraid you're not going to be without a child of your own. Maybe we shouldn't have gotten married."

"Remus John Lupin, don't say things like that," Sirius chastised. "You are the only man for me and I don't want anyone else."

"Your grandfather is going to have something to say about that."

"True, but as much as I don't want to be Lord Black, we don't even know if Grandfather will still be alive by the time Darius starts at Hogwarts. He is eighty-one, after all, so he's not exactly a young man."

"Um, you do remember that eighty-one is just barely past middle aged for a wizard right?"

"You're determined to counter everything I say, aren't you?"

"I'm just being realistic."

Sirius sighed, as he reached over and took his wineglass. Taking a sip, he finally said, "Okay. Well, we have time to think about it, Rem. Darius isn't even two years old yet, so it'll be almost a decade until he starts Hogwarts. That's plenty of time to research what our options are."

Picking up his own glass, Remus took a sip and then nodded. "Okay, you're right. Have I told you recently how much I love you?"

"No you haven't and I'm starting to feel neglected."

Remus grinned. "Well, we can't have that," as he moved so that he was straddling Sirius's legs and began giving the other man a lap dance. "How about we finish this bottle upstairs?"

"I love the way you think."

-o-0-o-

_**31 July 1985…**_

Hadrian Potter smiled as he opened his eyes and saw the sun streaming through the blinds. Rolling over and reaching across the veritable army of plushies arrayed between them, Hadrian grabbed his cousin's shoulder and started shaking him.

"Hey Ari, wake up!"

"What do you want?" Darius mumbled in a sleepy tone. "I'm trying to sleep."

"It's morning, Ari," Hadrian said as he began shaking his cousin's shoulder more persistently. "And it's my birthday!"

When Darius made no move to respond other than to burrow his head under his pillow and half-heartedly attempt to swat Hadrian's hand away from his shoulder, Hadrian decided that another tactic was necessary. Letting go of his cousin's shoulder, Hadrian sat up and crawled over to his cousin's side of the bed—they shared because they couldn't agree which one of them would get the top bunk and neither was willing to compromise—before straddling him, prying the pillow up off his face and saying, "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Each repeat of the word was said just a little bit louder and closer to Darius's left ear, as Hadrian leaned down over his cousin. Not long after this, of course, Hadrian found himself flat on his back, with his wrists pinned above his head, as Darius rolled over on top of him.

"Okay, okay, I'm awake. Now, what do you want?!"

Hadrian just grinned up at his cousin as he said, "Just returning the favor."

Shaking his head in confusion, Darius asked, "What? What favor?"

"You didn't let me sleep in on your birthday," Hadrian explained. "So why should I let you do it on mine?"

Darius was silent for a moment before he nodded and said, "Point," before he released his cousin's wrists, although he stayed in the position that rolling over on top of his cousin had placed him in which had him straddling Hadrian's waist. Grinning at his cousin, Darius said, "Of course you know Rian, I'm going to have to reciprocate here."

Getting a wide-eyed look on his face, Hadrian shook his head and said, "No!"

Still grinning, Darius twitched his fingers and said, "Time for birthday tickles!" before he began to mercilessly tickle his cousin, just as Hadrian had done to him on the morning of his birthday.

Hadrian was soon laughing so hard that he was almost having trouble breathing, as he struggled to say, "Okay… okay… Ari… please stop."

Darius tickled his cousin for another half a minute before he stopped and said, "Looking forward to today?"

Hadrian didn't answer immediately, as it took him a moment to recover from the tickle attack, but then he nodded and said, "Yeah, definitely. Piers, Kevin, and Wayne are coming over. And Carl."

Grinning, Darius said, "Rian's got a crush!"

"I do not!"

"The boy doth protest too much, methinks," Darius said with a grin. Ironically, it was actually due to Carl and Kevin's elder sister, Annabelle, that he even knew that line. As Carl and Annabelle had joined a youth theatre group over the summer and one day in the park, while he was playing with Kevin, Piers, Wayne, and Hadrian, Darius had heard them running lines together for a production of Hamlet. "Besides, if it's not a crush, why'd you single Carl out like that?"

"I do not have a crush on Carl Hopkins."

"Yes, you're doing so well at convincing me of that the way your voice just got all high and squeaky."

"Shut up," Hadrian said, as he crossed his arms and made a petulant face. "It's my birthday. No teasing allowed."

"Ruin a guy's fun why don't you?" Darius asked. After a moment, he asked, "The grandparents are also coming over, aren't they?"

In the years since that awkward meeting between Sirius and his grandparents, Arcturus, Melania, Pollux, and Irma had become quite involved in both Hadrian's and Darius's lives, pretty much adopting them as their honorary grandchildren. Petunia wasn't entirely sure how to react to that at first, considering the Black family's reputation, but as time passed she realized that their dark reputation was mostly a front.

Sirius cautioned that it most definitely was not a front where his mother was concerned and his Aunt Cassiopeia wasn't much better, but he admitted that his grandparents weren't so bad. Honestly, a part of him had considered going to live with his grandparents when he ran away from home, but in the end, living with his best friend James and his parents won out.

Petunia did like that Darius and Hadrian got to experience what it was like to have grandparents though, as it wasn't an experience they'd get otherwise considering that Lily's and her parents were dead, as were both James's and Vernon's. Although in the latter case, while she would never say it aloud, Petunia couldn't help but think that the boys were better off not knowing Vernon's parents. Especially his late mother who had basically been just like her daughter Marge… only about ten times worse.

Nodding, Hadrian said, "Yeah, they are."

"Cool."

-o-0-o-

"Morning," Darius said as he walked into the kitchen to find Petunia standing at the counter icing Hadrian's birthday cake. Vernon was sitting at the table reading the newspaper and drinking his morning tea. As it had taken a while for the boys to shower and get dressed—with more teasing from Darius about wanting to look good for Carl since Hadrian had taken nearly half an hour to pick his outfit, trying on several in the process—Vernon would normally have already left for work by the time they arrived in the kitchen. However, since it was Saturday, he was still home.

"Good morning, Darius," Vernon said with a smile as he looked up from the morning paper. "And happy birthday, Hadrian."

"Thanks, Uncle Vernon," Hadrian said with a smile.

It had taken a while for Vernon to come around on the whole magic thing and raising Hadrian, but in the end, his nephew's natural charm won him over. There was simply no way that he couldn't fall in love with the boy, as he just exuded happiness. In fact, in the last four years, Vernon had almost an entirely new outlook on life and was barely on speaking terms with Marge, after repeatedly denying her the chance to come to visit for holidays or a couple of weeks over the summers.

Marge, of course, blamed Petunia for brainwashing her dear brother against her. Petunia just shrugged it off, however, as she knew it wasn't true. Vernon had come to the change naturally, even if she had provided an occasional prod in the right direction. She was also content to let her sister-in-law think what she wanted. Especially after she'd gotten their phone number changed and used magic to make sure that Marge couldn't learn their new one.

The address was a bit more problematic, as that wasn't something that could easily be changed unless they moved and Petunia had no desire to do so, as she liked her home and the neighbors. So, instead, Vernon, Sirius, Remus, and Petunia had developed something of a ritual in which anytime that Marge sent them anything, be it a letter or a holiday card, they'd have a jolly time reading it and laughing at Marge for believing all her bullshit, before burning it and spending a very fun hour or two devising prank ideas should she ever get tired of being ignored and drop in unexpectedly.

"Uh, ah, ah, Hadrian, no!" Petunia said as she swatted her nephew's hand away from the cake. "No licking the icing. This is for your party and I won't have your cake covered in finger marks from you running your fingers all over it."

"But it's my birthday!" Hadrian whined. "And it's my cake."

"You think that argument is going to work any better than it did with me?" Darius asked as he'd tried to pull the same thing back in June.

Looking over Darius, Hadrian grinned and nodded. "Yes, because they love me more."

Smiling at the boy's antics, Vernon stood and patted them both on the head, before he said, "Sorry, Hadrian, but that's not true. We love you both equally."

"Vernon's right," Petunia said. "Now, if you boys sit down and behave while you eat breakfast…" Petunia paused here and smiled before she added, "…I'll let you both lick the bowl if there's any left." Which, of course, there would be as she'd purposely made more icing than she actually needed for the cake.

Unsurprisingly, Darius and Hadrian were quick to sit down at the table and since Petunia was busy with the cake, Vernon took it upon himself to plate their breakfasts and bring the plates to them. Of course, almost as soon as he set the plates down in front of them, Darius said, "Hey! Hadrian's got more bacon than me."

"Now, now, Darius, it is his birthday," Vernon said soothingly. "And you got two extra pieces on yours last month, so you can't really complain."

For his part, Hadrian just did the same thing that Darius had done to him, stuck his tongue out before he began eating.

About twenty minutes later, just as the boys had finished their breakfasts and Petunia put the leftover icing in the fridge to chill a bit before she let them eat it so that it wouldn't be as messy, the basement door opened.

"Grandma! Grandpa! Papa! Nana!" Darius and Hadrian called out happily, as Arcturus, Melania, Pollux, and Irma, respectively, emerged from the basement where with a judicious bit of wizarding space, Petunia had created a large enough fireplace to allow for a Floo connection. Of course, it was a private password-protected Floo that couldn't be used by just anyone who knew the address, but the grandparents were among the people who'd been trusted to make use of it.

"Good morning, my boys," Melania said, as she came over and kissed them both on the top of their heads before she smiled at Hadrian and said, "And how is the birthday boy this morning?"

"Fantastic!" Hadrian exclaimed, especially when he noticed the packages that Arcturus and Pollux were trying and failing to hide behind their backs.

Shaking her head, Petunia said, "You can put the presents on the table in the living room with the others."

Hadrian looked sad at this, as he cried, "But Auntie…"

"No buts, Hadrian," Petunia said. "You know the rules. No opening of presents until your party." Left unsaid was the fact that Petunia, with a bit of help from Sirius, had charmed the present table so that if Hadrian—or Darius on his birthday—attempted to sneak a peek at what they'd gotten, they'd sprout donkey ears and a tail while their fingers turned into hooves so that they couldn't disturb the wrapping paper on any of their presents.

Arcturus and Pollux moved towards the living room to do just that, but before they could, Irma snagged one of the two presents that each of them were carrying and said, "I think he can safely open these now."

Perhaps it was the look on Irma's face that convinced her, but Petunia nodded, much to Hadrian's delight.

Delight which only lasted as long as it took for him to tear into the presents.

And find that one was socks and the other was underpants.

Darius burst out laughing, hard enough that he almost fell off his chair, causing Hadrian to shoot him a petulant glare. Still laughing, Darius said, "I can't believe you fell for that."

Smiling, Pollux said to a grinning Vernon and Petunia, "I find that children have very short attention spans, especially when it comes to presents."

Nodding, Arcturus added, "Indeed, which is why I'm not surprised that Hadrian forgot that Melania did the same thing to Darius on his birthday."

Crossing his arms and scowling, Hadrian pouted. "I hate you all."

"No you don't," Melania said, as she and Irma leaned down and kissed Hadrian on opposite cheeks and each gave him a quick tickle, which had his scowl melting away so fast that it was almost a blink and you'll miss it situation.

As soon as the basement door opened, Petunia had put the kettle back on the stove to reheat the water. As the whistle blew, she turned off the burner and smiling at the grandparents, she asked, "Tea?"

"That would be lovely, Petunia," Irma said. "Thank you."

-o-0-o-

An hour-and-a-half later, Hadrian, Darius, Kevin, Wayne, and Piers were all having a blast as they took turns splashing each other in the backyard swimming pool that was actually halfway in Number 4's yard and halfway in Number 5's, as the wall and hedges between the two had long been taken out. Sirius and Remus were seated nearby, watching them with grins on their faces, as Carl rubbed suntan lotion on Annabelle's back.

Hadrian had sounded like somebody had kicked the puppy he didn't have when he found out that Carl and Annabelle were dating… although he rather quickly forgot about it as he found himself the target of splashes of water from both sides from Kevin and Wayne. Any attempt to splash them back, however, was preempted when he had to quickly reach under the water and grab the waistband of his trunks, as Piers attempted to pull them down, before coming up to the surface and briefly pushing Hadrian's head under the water.

Remus laughed as he watched the boys playing in the pool before he turned to Sirius and said, "I'm so glad we decided to put in the pool."

"Yes, it's provided much enjoyment," Sirius said. Although whether he was speaking of watching the boys and their friends play in it during the day, or the occasional times that Remus and Sirius had decided to make use of it after the boys were all safely in bed for the night—sans clothing—was anyone's guess.

Coming out of the conservatory where he and Petunia had been seated, chatting with Sirius's grandparents, Arabella Figg, Annabelle's and Kevin's parents, Jonathan and Lauren Entwhistle, and Carl's and Wayne's parents, Keith and Victoria Hopkins, Vernon grabbed towels from the pile on the picnic table and said, "Okay boys, time to get out."

There were some groans at this before Vernon shook his head and said, "Well, if you don't want cake and ice cream…"

Vernon, Sirius, Remus, Carl, and Annabelle all couldn't help but laugh at how abruptly the groans stopped and how fast the boys all began climbing out of the pool and grabbing towels from Vernon.

Ten minutes later, everyone was gathered around the dining room table singing Happy Birthday to Hadrian, as he waited patiently to blow out the five candles on his cake, which Petunia had decorated in a combination of dragons and golden snitches. She normally wouldn't have used such a blatantly magical design since Jonathan and Lauren were muggles, but they already knew about magic since Annabelle, like Carl, were nearly ten years older than their little brothers, and both students at Hogwarts.

"Okay, Hadrian, make a wish," Petunia said with a smile before Hadrian leaned in and blew as hard as he could. Of course, almost as soon as the candles went out they relit and he had to blow again… and again… prompting him to glare at Sirius as he said, "Sirius!"

"What?" Sirius asked, innocently. "I didn't have anything to do with it."

Hadrian didn't say anything, as he just blew again… only to have the candles relight for the fourth time, which caused Hadrian to groan, before suddenly all five candles popped up out of the cake and into a nearby empty bowl where they were doused with magically summoned water, putting them all out for the final time.

"That was very impressive, Hadrian," Arcturus said. He knew that it had been Hadrian who'd done it because he could see magical auras and had often commented to the other adults in the room that Hadrian's aura was unlike anything he'd ever seen in someone his age. Most people's auras were white, black, or grey and were mostly somewhat dull or merely average, with a few powerful examples of something greater.

Albus Dumbledore was one such example, as his aura was a brilliant white that was almost blinding in its intensity. The one time that Arcturus had met Voldemort before his downfall, it had taken everything in him not to shudder and reveal his gift to the Dark Lord, when he saw just how black the man's aura was… like the blackest, most soul-sucking darkness one could possibly imagine. Arcturus had needed a combination of Dreamless Sleep and a series of strong meditations and Occlumency exercises he hadn't had to do for years for a week following that event, as honestly, Voldemort's aura had made a Dementor's aura look light by comparison.

Hadrian's aura, however, was a very interesting mix of gray tinged with silver and gold, colors which Arcturus had never seen before in the years since his gift had manifested along with his magical inheritance at age fifteen.

For his part, Hadrian just smiled at his grandfather and didn't say anything. He knew better than to try and act innocent, because he knew about the man's aura-sight and that he could tell when somebody was using magic around him, as whether it was verbal, non-verbal, wandless or not, or even intentional or not, their aura flashed as they drew upon their power reserves to cast.

"Well then, who wants cake and ice cream?" Petunia asked as she picked up the ice cream scoop and Vernon took out a knife and began cutting into the homemade chocolate cake which had cherry pie filling between the layers, combining Hadrian's two favorite desserts.

Unsurprisingly, she was met with a chorus of enthusiastic ME's from just about everyone in the room, even the adults who all greatly enjoyed the combination that Petunia had been making for his birthday and Christmas ever since Hadrian had made his preferences known when he was three.

-o-0-o-

Following cake and ice cream it was finally time to open presents, much to Hadrian's joy, although that was tempered a bit by the fact that the first couple of gifts he opened, one from Petunia and one from Remus, were the obligatory clothing, with a mix of both muggle and magical fashions.

Pollux also gave Hadrian a clothing related gift in that he gave him a gift certificate for Twillfit and Tattings. Had Hadrian been a bit older, he might have acted a bit more enthused, considering that it was a gift certificate that included a personal fitting with the reclusive master tailor Wolfgang Twillfit. As it was, however, while Hadrian did properly thank all three of them for the gifts, as good manners demanded, it was clear that he wasn't all that thrilled with them.

The next gift, from Sirius, was better received as he gave Hadrian a new exploding snap deck and five pounds of assorted candy from Honeydukes. Needless to say, there was some groaning when Petunia confiscated most of it and only let Harry pick two pieces to eat now and would be rationing the rest. She did smile and nod, however, when he asked her to let each of his friends pick two pieces as she was proud of him for sharing.

Arcturus got Harry a wizarding chess set, while Melania and Irma got him books, although since they were about dragons, centaurs, and merfolk—three subjects that Hadrian enjoyed—he wasn't all that upset.

The next gift brought forward was from Piers Polkiss, who was both Hadrian and Darius's first and oldest friend. His mother, Portia, was a single mother as Piers' father, Pierce, had been killed in action in the Falklands War. As a result, Portia was often working in order to support her son and herself, so Piers was frequently at the Dursleys spending time with Darius and Hadrian and had pretty much become an honorary member of the family. Because he was around often, Arcturus was able to inform them that according to his aura-sight, Piers was a muggleborn.

This did make things much easier in terms of giving Hadrian his gifts, as they didn't have to hide the magical nature of any of them because as a muggleborn, it wasn't breaking the Statute of Secrecy for him to see and be told about magic. Of course, the head of the Improper Use of Magic Office, one Dolores Umbridge, did try to make a case about a breach of the Statute by using magic in front of not only Piers, but also Kevin and Wayne, as none of them had yet gotten their Hogwarts letters and were thus not confirmed to be magical.

One visit from the Lord Arcturus Black, however, was all it took for her to cease her attempts to get Petunia, Sirius, and Remus in trouble for using magic in front of the three boys. Aura-sight was a rare gift, but it was well-respected and the Ministry was aware of Arcturus's gift, so if he said the three boys were magical, then they were magical and not even the ruthless tactics she'd employed to move up the ladder to head of her office could get anyone to listen to her. She knew better than to attempt to go against one of the Lords of Albion, after all.

Thus on a trip to Diagon Alley, while Vernon sat with Darius and Hadrian in the Leaky Cauldron, Petunia took Piers into the alley to buy Hadrian's birthday present. With a smile, Piers handed over what he'd selected—it was actually a joint gift from Piers, Darius, Wayne, and Kevin who'd all pooled their money, leaving it up to Piers to make the decision what to get—and Hadrian had an idea what it was even before opening the package. When he did, however, he whooped at the sight of a training broom.

"Can I try it out?" Hadrian asked.

Shaking her head, Petunia said, "Not right now, Hadrian. Besides, you know you can't fly it here. What will the neighbors think if they see you flying around on a broom?"

"It's a training broom," Hadrian argued. "It won't go any higher than five feet and the garden wall and hedges are eight feet, so they wouldn't see me."

"Hadrian, you know the rules," Petunia said in a firm tone.

Hadrian sighed and nodded. "No magic outside where there's even the smallest chance of a muggle seeing it."

Seeing the disappointed look on Hadrian's face, Melania patted him on the shoulder and said, "You can come over to Arlington tomorrow if you like. You'll be away from muggle eyes and can fly to your heart's content." With a smile, she added, "And the rest of you can come along."

All four boys whooped at that before Annabelle handed Hadrian a small box which upon opening it, he grinned as it turned out to be a box full of some of Zonko's bestselling products. With a smile, she said, "I figured that would be a hit." Then with a grin, she added, "Try not to let him get into them," as she hooked her finger in Sirius's direction.

"I'm shocked, shocked I say," Sirius said, with a look of innocence on his face. "Whatever are you implying, young lady?"

"That you're a big kid at heart," Annabelle answered.

Before Sirius could respond, Remus leaned over and kissed Sirius on the cheek, before he said, "Yes, they're for Hadrian, not you. He can share them with you if he wants, but no stealing your godson's birthday presents."

"I would never!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Says the man that used Hadrian's first through third birthdays and Darius's second and third birthdays as excuses to buy out Zonko's stock of their most popular items," Petunia said.

After some laughter from everyone in the room, which even Sirius joined in on after a few moments of pouting, Carl handed Hadrian an envelope. "This is from me and my parents."

Opening it, Hadrian grinned as he pulled out several sheets of parchment from the envelope that was clearly magically expanded to be larger on the inside than it looked on the outside. "Season tickets for the Montrose Magpies!"

With a smile, Victoria Hopkins smiled and said, "My brother is the coach, so it wasn't too difficult to get them… and they're for one of the private boxes reserved for family and friends of the players and staff, so you can bring however many you like to the games, up to twenty, which is how many the box seats."

"Thank you!" Hadrian said as he hugged Keith and Victoria, and then Carl… the hug with the handsome fifteen-year-old going slightly longer than strictly necessary, which just had Darius holding in a snicker.

When he finally returned to his seat, Hadrian smiled and thanked everyone again for his presents, as the table was now empty so he assumed there were no more.

"Actually, there's one more gift," Vernon said. "I just couldn't keep it on the present table."

With that said, he stood up and left the room for a moment, only to return with a medium sized box that had a large red ribbon around it, but no wrapping paper. It was as it was placed on the floor in front of Hadrian that he noticed the small air holes in the lid. He cast questioning eyes at his uncle.

"Now you'll have to share him with Darius, of course," Vernon said.

"Him?" Hadrian asked.

"Open it," Vernon said with a smile before Hadrian undid the ribbon and lifted the lid from the box.

Hadrian's eyes widened and he said, "Aww!" as he saw the small black, tan, and white beagle puppy in the box. Reaching one hand into the box, Hadrian let the dog sniff his fingers for a moment before he gently lifted it out of the box and cradled it to his chest, as Darius scooted over to get a closer look.

"I love him!" Hadrian exclaimed happily, as the puppy started licking his face, making him giggle. "Thank you, Uncle Vernon!"

"You're welcome, Hadrian."

"What's his name?" Darius asked.

"He doesn't have one yet," Vernon answered. "Now, while I do expect you boys to share, it is still Hadrian's birthday present, so I think he has dibs on naming rights."

Hadrian looked thoughtful for a moment, as he tried to think about what he knew about beagles. He didn't know all that much, as he'd never really expected to have a dog, as Petunia had never had anything good to say about Aunt Marge's bulldogs. However, after a moment, it occurred to him that if he remembered correctly, beagles were hunting dogs.

He grinned and said, "Chase. I'll call him Chase."

Reaching over and letting the dog sniff his fingers, Darius said, "Chase? I like it. Hi Chase."

The dog cocked his head at this and then let out a small happy bark as if to say I like that name.

-o-0-o-

_**10 August 1985…**_

Bill and Charlie Weasley were sitting between their uncle's beds, each holding one of their hands. They were pretty much the only ones of their siblings who still visited Gideon and Fabian frequently, as, after four years, the others had either lost hope that the twins would ever wake up, or they, like Ron and Ginny, found it harder to care about their uncles because they had no memory of them outside of their comatose state.

"You think they'll ever come around?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know. I hope so, but I'll admit it's getting harder and harder to hang onto hope."

Nodding, Charlie said, "Yeah, every time they move, we think this is it and then not."

Over the last four years, the family had gotten excited on several occasions, as Gideon and Fabian moved. The excitement only lasted until the healer came in and examined them, however, and had to break the news that it had just been involuntary movements and not a sign that they were waking up. There were only so many times that the family could stand to get their hopes up only to have them dashed, which is why at this point, Molly, Bill, and Charlie were the only ones who visited regularly. The others just couldn't deal with it any longer.

Molly had brought Bill and Charlie to visit today but had left the boys alone while she went up to the visitor's tearoom on the fifth floor to relax for a few minutes with a nice hot cup of tea. Bill would be fifteen in November and Charlie thirteen in December. Both had always been very well mannered and behaved, so she saw nothing wrong with leaving them alone for a few minutes with her brothers.

She was just glad that they still wanted to come with her, as getting any of the other children to visit was next to impossible. Arthur would usually come without complaint, but since it was Tuesday, he had work and couldn't come today. So, she'd left the other kids with Arthur's parents and brought her two eldest with her to St. Mungo's.

Bill and Charlie fell into a companionable silence, as they both leaned back in their chairs slightly and began to drift off. Before Bill could fall asleep, however, he felt Gideon's fingers moving, squeezing his hand. It was a very weak grip, but it was enough to get Bill's attention, as he was instantly more alert and looking closely at his uncle for any sign of further movement.

He was just about to sigh and lean back in his chair, depressed by another false alarm, when it happened again. Only this time, when Bill looked at Gideon's face, he saw a type of movement he'd never seen before in all the years his uncles had been patients. Gideon's nose was twitching and as he leaned in to take a closer look, he was almost positive that he could see his eyelids twitching.

Taking a deep breath, Bill said, "Uncle Gid? It's Bill. Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."

It took nearly a minute, which seemed like an eternity to Bill, but Gideon's fingers tightened around Bill's hand. After four years of near misses and false alarms, Bill did his best not to get his hopes up, no matter how promising this was looking. But when Gideon's eyelids cracked open a fraction of an inch and his lips moved, even though no sound came out, Bill quickly began shaking Charlie's shoulder with his free hand.

"What?" Charlie asked as he became more alert.

"Go get a healer and mum!" Bill said. "Uncle Gideon is waking up."

"Are you…" Charlie began to ask but stopped mid-sentence when he looked over and saw Gideon's eyes were wide open and were moving from side to side as he looked around at his surroundings.

Charlie stood up so quickly that his chair tipped over, but he didn't care as he almost ran from the room.

Gideon was still clearly trying to talk but nothing was coming out. Thinking that maybe his throat was dry, Bill pulled out his wand, summoned an empty glass from the nearby sink and filled it with water. He then tapped his wand against one of the runes engraved on Gideon's bed, which made the head move up.

Placing one hand on the back of his uncle's neck to lift it up a little bit more, he used the other to hold the glass against his lips, as he said, "Drink."

Gideon focused on Bill at this, before he nodded slightly and began taking very small sips of water. After the glass was drained and Bill took it away, Gideon coughed, before he asked—his voice rather raw and weak from disuse—"Where am I?" This was followed only a second later by, "Who are you?"

Bill's first instinct was to be hurt that his uncle didn't recognize him, but that feeling quickly dissipated when he realized that it had been four years. He was only ten the last time that Gideon had seen him, so obviously now, at only a little over three months away from turning fifteen, he definitely didn't look the same.

"It's me, Uncle Gid, your nephew. Bill. Molly's son."

"Bill," Gideon repeated before he shook his head and said, "No, Bill is a little boy… hasn't even…" he paused to cough, "…started Hogwarts yet. You're…" he paused to cough again, "…a teenager."

Before Bill could figure out how to explain what was going on, Charlie re-entered the room, almost dragging Molly by the hand. Her eyes widened and she gasped when she saw her brother sitting up in bed with his eyes open. Rushing forward, she said, "Oh thank Merlin! Gideon!"

Gideon's arms were rather weak so he couldn't lift his arms to return his sister's hug, but she at least, he recognized, as being an adult, she hadn't changed that much while he was unconscious. As Molly ended the hug, she took Gideon's face in her hands and just looked at him for a moment, before she said, "Oh I've missed you, baby brother."

Gideon looked confused at this. "Missed me? You make it sound like we haven't seen each other in years."

Healer Miriam Strout entered the room at this point, as she'd been with another patient when the orderly that Charlie had told to find a healer on his way upstairs to get Molly told her she was needed in the long-term care ward. Her eyes widened a bit at seeing Gideon sitting up and hearing him talking, but she smiled and said, "Well, now, Mr. Prewett you're looking much better." Pulling out her wand, she said, "Let's see what your diagnostic results say."

"Diagnostic results?" Gideon asked, his voice sounding a bit stronger now that he was actually exercising his vocal chords. Seeing that the woman waving a wand over him was dressed as a healer, he asked, "Am I in St. Mungo's?"

"You are indeed, Mr. Prewett," Miriam said. "I'm Healer Miriam Strout."

Gideon grimaced slightly, before he said, "Don't call me Mr. Prewett. It makes me feel old. It's just Gideon. Mr. Prewett is my father."

Bill, Charlie, and Molly shared a look at that. That was going to be a hard conversation.

As Miriam finished her diagnostic spell, she smiled and said, "Well, Gideon, you're doing quite well. You've lost a bit of weight while you've been here and you'll need physical therapy to restore the strength in your limbs, but all in all, you're doing quite well. Much better than most of my patients."

"How long have I been here?" Gideon asked. Pointing at Bill, he looked at his sister and said, "Molly, he says that he's Bill, but that's impossible. Isn't it?"

Shaking her head, Molly said, "He really is my son Bill." Laying a hand on Charlie's shoulder, she added, "And this is Charlie."

Gideon looked confused. "How?" Turning to look at Miriam, he asked, "How long?"

"Three years, nine months, three weeks, and two days, Mr. Prewett," Miriam answered, as Gideon's eyes widened. "You're in the Janus Thickey Ward at St. Mungo's, where you've been in a coma."

"Three years?" Gideon asked, clearly shocked. "What happened? Last thing I remember is fighting Death Eaters in my front yard." He paused for a moment, before he asked, "Where's Fabian? And Marlene and Dorcas?"

Bill, Charlie, and Molly were standing between Gideon's bed and Fabian's, so they moved out of the way, as Charlie, pointing at his other uncle's bed, said, "Uncle Fab is right here, Uncle Gid. He hasn't woken up yet."

Looking over at his twin, Gideon said, "Fab? Can you hear me?" When there was no response, Gideon shook his head and asked, "What about Marlene and Dorcas? Where are they?"

Molly, Bill, and Charlie looked at each other again, only this time Gideon caught the look. He'd been too busy watching Miriam wave her wand over him to notice it the first time. "What's with the look? What aren't you telling me?"

"Please, calm down, Mr. Prewett," Miriam said.

"Gideon! It's Gideon!" he said, starting to get annoyed. "I already told you, Mr. Prewett is my father."

Moving over and sitting down on the edge of her brother's bed, Molly took his hand in hers and rubbed it, as she said, "Gideon, you just woke up…"

Shaking his head, he said, "Molly, stop bloody stalling and tell me!"

She glanced quickly over at Miriam, before she said, "Marlene and Dorcas," Molly got choked up here, as tears appeared in the corners of her eyes, "and father are… no longer with us."

It took a moment for Gideon to comprehend what he was hearing, but then he shook his head and asked, "What? What do you mean no longer with us? That sounds like… no!"

Molly nodded. "Yes, brother, I'm afraid it's true. Marlene, Dorcas, and father are dead."

"How? When?" Gideon asked, as he struggled to make sense of what he was hearing.

"Marlene and Dorcas died the same night you were hurt," Bill said, as he saw that his mother was too far gone reliving the pain of losing Grandpa Prewett right now to speak. "They were both hit by the Killing Curse."

Tears appeared in the corners of Gideon's eyes at this, as he said, "No, Marlene…" as he dealt with the pain of hearing that the woman he loved was dead. "So, my girlfriend is dead, my twin is in a coma, and his girlfriend is dead?" Bill nodded. "What about father?"

It was Charlie who answered. "He died two months ago, Uncle Gid. He was here visiting you and Uncle Fab, and suffered a massive heart attack in the lobby, just as he was leaving." Shaking his head, he said, "The receptionist immediately called for a healer, but he was gone before they arrived."

"Oh Merlin, no! No!" Gideon exclaimed, as Molly leaned over and hugged her brother again. Gideon let out a groan of frustration when he tried and failed to put his arm around his big sister. He knew what he wanted to do, but his arms weren't cooperating. Looking at Bill, he asked, "Bill, can you?"

Nodding, Bill moved over to the side of the bed and picked up his uncle's right arm, since Molly was still cradling his left hand in her lap, and moved it onto his mother's back.

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

And there you have Chapter Two of 'The Seventh Olympian'. So, Gideon Prewett at least has woken up now. Too bad he had to get such bad news upon doing so. He did actually see Marlene get hit with the Killing Curse, but I figure some memory loss after nearly four years in a coma isn't that hard to believe.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my LiveJournal (JayColin), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at .


	3. Chapter 3

The Seventh Olympian

Written By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relates to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, and Teen Wolf are the property of their respective creators, publishers, and production companies. I'm not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone's copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books or other media.

Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Background Het, Violence, Language, Canon Divergence, Crossover, Harem

**Author's Note:** Just to make this clear, this chapter begins eight days before the last scene of chapter two when Gideon Prewett woke up. So, when this chapter starts, he's still comatose.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Three

-o-0-o-

_**2 August 1985…**_

Today was an important day in young Hadrian's life and it was one that Petunia had completely neglected to talk to him about. Of course, the reason for that was because she had wanted him to have a childhood, free from any cares, for as long as he possibly could. For the most part, he'd still have that moving forward from today, but from today onward he would have more information about his future. Information which Petunia knew would force her nephew to grow up faster than she or his parents would have ever wished.

Not for the first time, she found herself thinking, _**'Oh if only James and Lily were still alive…'**_

Sitting Hadrian down across from her in the living room, alongside Darius simply because he was present in the smallest upstairs bedroom which served as their playroom when Petunia had gone to collect Hadrian. She couldn't think of a reason why he shouldn't be privy to the conversation that was to follow, as he was sure to find out about it before the day was over anyway. So he may as well hear it firsthand from her, rather than from Hadrian later.

Fidgeting, Hadrian asked, "Did I do something wrong, Aunt Petunia?"

Smiling, Petunia said, "No, Hadrian, my dear boy, you did not. However, the time has come for us to have a serious talk. One which many would say that I've put off for far too long as it is."

"What is it?" Hadrian asked, curious. Much to Petunia's pleasure, both boys had developed into naturally curious boys, who always wanted to know more. From the moment she began teaching them how to read just over a year ago, they'd become avid readers who read everything they could get their hands on, even if they often didn't understand what they were reading or struggled with some of the larger words. She was almost positive that at least one of them would end up in her old house once they started Hogwarts.

"The truth about your family, your birthright, and your future position in the magical world," Petunia said. "If I had my way, I'd save this conversation until you were older, but needs must and I have little choice but to tell you now because that birthright requires you to participate in a magical ritual at the rising of the first full moon following your fifth birthday."

"That's tonight," Darius commented. He and Hadrian both knew the lunar calendar practically be heart, having learned it not long after they turned four and were told of Remus's 'furry little problem'.

Petunia nodded. "Yes, it is." Pausing to take a deep breath, Petunia continued. "Hadrian, you're aware of the fact that your Grandfather Arcturus is Lord Black, and what that means, correct?"

"Yes, he's the head of the Black family," Hadrian answered. "It means that all the other Blacks have to do what he says."

"Well, that is one aspect of it I suppose," Petunia confirmed, "but there's more to it than that. You see your grandfather is nobility… the Duke of Charlton to be precise."

"Does that mean he has a seat in the House of Lords?" Darius asked.

Shaking her head, Petunia said, "No, he doesn't because his duchy isn't part of the peerage of the United Kingdom, but rather that of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia, which is the magical counterpart to the United Kingdom. As such, he's not technically a citizen of the United Kingdom and thus having a seat in the upper house of Parliament would make about as much sense as a noble from the peerage of France or Spain having one."

Both boys nodded in understanding before Petunia continued. "Anyway, Hadrian, your family, the Potters, are like the Blacks, an ancient magical noble family. However, your family is much older than the Blacks and far more prestigious."

"How so?" Hadrian asked.

"Arcturus is, as I said, the Duke of Charlton," Petunia answered. "Which is a magical duchy located in Northern England… or North Anglia as it's called in the magical world. The Potters, however, hold a title which has never been granted in the muggle UK's peerage, but was granted a total of seven times to seven magical families in Albion and Iwernia." After a pause, she added, "The Potter title is Grand Duke of Cambria… which comprises all of Wales, plus Cornwall, Devon, and the Channel Islands."

"So my family is nobility?" Hadrian asked.

Petunia took a deep breath. "More akin to royalty actually. While your family is known as the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, the styles and titles granted to everyone born into the family who is within two degrees of relation—that is child or grandchild—of the current or a former Lord Potter are decidedly royal, not noble."

"Does that mean I'm related to the Queen?" Hadrian asked as he cocked his head to one side. He'd seen the Queen on television before. She seemed nice.

"No, Hadrian, you are not, at least as far as I know," Petunia said. "As I said, the Potters are ancient… so ancient that I'm almost positive that your family predates the origins of the Queen's family by multiple centuries."

"Centuries?" Darius asked, tripping over the world a little. "That's a hundred years right?"

Nodding, Petunia said, "Yes, Darius, one century is a hundred years, so multiple centuries is at least two hundred years." Shaking her head, she said, "For comparison sake, your Grandfather Arcturus's full style and title as Lord Black is His Grace the Lord Arcturus, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, and the Duke of Charlton. The Lord Potter, however, is styled as His Most Royal Highness Prince-Elector, their first name, Head of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, and Grand Duke of Cambria."

"Okay, and who is the current Lord Potter?"

Petunia sighed. "There isn't one, Hadrian. Most recently, your father and his father before him held that title, but as they're both dead, the title has gone into abeyance. That means it's temporarily not in use by anyone."

"But it will be?" Darius asked.

"Yes, it will," Petunia confirmed. "If James was still alive, then Harry would still be going through a ritual today, as today is what's known among the nobility as his Confirmation Day. Essentially you'll be confirming your status as the Heir of the Potter family."

"Heir? Like Sirius?" Hadrian asked.

"Yes," Petunia answered. "Sirius is the Black Heir and thus he had to undergo the Ritual of Confirmation too. The only difference is that he didn't undergo it until his father passed away in 1979, because until that point his father Orion was the Black heir. However, in your case, your father's father died a few months after you were born, so your father moved up from being the Potter Heir to being the Potter Lord. So as his firstborn son, your Ritual of Confirmation happens earlier, today, on the first full moon following your fifth birthday. Sirius's was on the first full moon following his father's death, which made him nineteen years old at the time since his birthday hadn't fallen yet."

"Since Hadrian's father is dead does that mean he's going to be Lord Potter now?" Darius asked.

Shaking her head, Petunia said, "No that title will continue to be in abeyance until the first full moon following Hadrian's eleventh birthday, which is when he'll have to do a Ritual of Claiming that will see him officially claiming the title and the birthright that goes with it. That ritual cannot be done until he's at least that old, as it wouldn't work otherwise."

Both boys were silent for a moment, as they digested the information they were being told. Petunia was thankful that they were both as bright as they were, as it made it much easier to explain things to them when she didn't have to repeat herself several times over or end up going on tangents to explain related topics that they needed to understand in order to fully grasp what she was telling them.

That was another reason why she'd waited until now to tell Hadrian, as she wanted to give him as much time as possible to grow and develop his mind so that he could understand with as little difficulty as possible.

"So what will my title be?" Hadrian asked. "As the Potter Heir?"

Petunia smiled. "His Royal Highness Electoral Prince Hadrian, Heir of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, and Duke of Granston."

"Duke of Granston?"

Nodding at her son, Petunia said, "Yes, almost every noble in Albion and Iwernia, with the exception of the seven Barons and the seven Baronets, possess a secondary title in addition to their primary title. They're all one level below the primary, so for Lord Potter, the Grand Duke of Cambria, the title is the Duke of Granston. Whereas your Grandfather Arcturus's secondary title is the Marquess of Alnwick. Lords only use their highest title, however, so the secondary title is not used by them, although their heir is allowed to use it as a courtesy title, but without the 'the' in front of it."

"So, Grandfather is the Marquess of Alnwick," Hadrian said, "but Sirius is just Marquess of Alnwick."

"Yes. Omitting the 'the' in front of Marquess denotes that it's a courtesy title," Petunia explained. "And that the person using it does not hold that title in their own right. It's the same with the Potter title. The Lord Potter is the Duke of Granston, while the heir is just Duke of Granston."

"What's the elec.. elect… oral… electoral part?" Darius asked, stumbling a little over the unfamiliar word that he'd never heard or seen before today.

"The heirs of all seven Grand Dukes are dubbed Electoral Princes," Petunia replied. "While the Grand Dukes themselves are dubbed Prince-Electors. The reason for that is because it's the seven Grand Dukes who elect the King of Albion and Iwernia."

"What about the Queen?" Hadrian asked.

"Queen Elizabeth II is the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland," Petunia answered. "She's a muggle, however, and as such, she is not now, nor has she ever been the monarch of the magical Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia. Albion's monarchy has been elective for over a thousand years now, with the seven Grand Dukes nominating and then electing a junior member of their houses—so an uncle, brother, cousin, or younger son who isn't their heir—as the King, who then serves in that capacity for life or fifty years, whichever comes first. The current one is His Majesty King Logan III, Head of the Foremost Ancient and Royal House of Pendragon, and King of Albion and Iwernia."

"Pendragon?" Darius asked. "Like King Arthur?"

Petunia smiled and nodded. "Yes, exactly like King Arthur. He was a real person who served as King of Albion and Iwernia in the mid to late 500s. Before he died, he elevated the ancestors of the seven Grand Dukes to their statuses as Grand Dukes and granted them each a large territory to govern as they saw fit. He also charged them with electing the King, although it's the Grand Dukes who hold the true power, as the King is mostly a figurehead with very little domestic authority outside of the lands that he personally governs, which are known as the Archduchy of Britannia."

"So, Pendragon is one of these Grand Duke families?" Hadrian asked.

Shaking her head, Petunia answered, "No, the House of Pendragon has never been a Grand Ducal family, they've always been the Royal family. However, King Arthur had no children or other relatives to pass the throne on to when he died. So, he set up the elective monarchy and created the Grand Dukes as the ones who would elect the monarch. Upon their coronation, the monarch leaves the house they were born into and becomes the Head of House Pendragon. This is so that they cannot be magically influenced or ordered to do anything by the Lord of the family they were born into."

Sirius entered the room at this point, having heard what Petunia was saying as he came in through the back door of the house. Vernon and Petunia had entrusted Sirius and Remus with spare keys to their house, just as Sirius and Remus had entrusted them with spares to theirs. They both had a fireplace connected to the Floo Network in their basement, but unless it was the dead of winter and thus too cold or it was pouring rain, Sirius and Remus preferred to simply walk next door, rather than Flooing.

"The King's spouse is also a member of House Pendragon," Sirius added. "However, any children they have together remain as members of the family their father was born into. Which is always one of the seven Grand Ducal families: Cornfoot, Longbottom, MacDougal, Ollivander, Potter, Scamander, and Thomas."

"King Logan was a member of House MacDougal before becoming King," Petunia revealed. "He's Lord Aindreas MacDougal's nephew."

Sirius smiled and said, "King Logan has only been on the throne for the last nine years. Before that, the monarch was King Nathaniel II… son of Charlus and Dorea Black Potter." Hadrian's and Darius's eyes widened at this, as Sirius nodded and said, "Yes, he was related to us. Charlus was Hadrian's dad's uncle, while Dorea was my aunt… your Papa Pollux's younger sister."

-o-0-o-

Two hours before the moon was due to rise, Hadrian, Darius, and Petunia arrived in the Floo Room of a large and richly decorated home. Sirius had wanted to come and witness Hadrian's Ritual of Confirmation, however, it was agreed by all involved that his place was with Remus on the night of the full moon. Vernon had also remained behind at Privet Drive, not only because the home that his wife, son, and nephew were now standing in was a magical residence, but also because someone had to stay home to make sure that the energetic puppy known as Chase didn't get into too much trouble.

As Petunia was putting away her wand after casting a few quick Cleaning Charms on herself, Hadrian, and Darius to clean off the soot from the Floo, a rather regal looking older woman in a dark emerald green dress stepped forward and said, "Welcome to Lakeview Castle."

Petunia curtseyed as Darius and Hadrian bowed as they'd been instructed, before Petunia said, "Thank you for allowing us into your home, Lady Longbottom. I appreciate your willingness to allow us to share your Ritual Chamber this evening."

"Think nothing of it, Petunia," Augusta said. "We're honored to have you. Besides, the chamber is already prepared for young Neville's Ritual of Confirmation, so it wasn't an inordinate amount of work to double the preparations so that Hadrian could have his at the same time."

Petunia smiled before she motioned towards the older woman and said, "Hadrian, Darius, this is Her Most Royal Highness the Princess-Dowager Augusta, the Dowager Grand Duchess of North Anglia." After a moment's pause, Petunia motioned towards Darius and said, "Your Highness, may I present my son, Darius Dursley, and my nephew, the soon-to-be-confirmed Electoral Prince Hadrian of House Potter."

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you," Augusta said before she called out, "Tula!"

There was a small pop before a small pointy-eared, hook-nosed creature that Darius and Hadrian recognized from a children's picture book edition of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ as a house-elf.

They knew that house-elves were bound to the families they served and would not harm a guest in the master's home unless directed to by their master. And considering that Lady Longbottom had welcomed them, they didn't think she was going to ask Tula to attack them.

Unlike the description in the book, however, this elf wasn't wearing anything like what either boy would describe as a tea cozy. Instead, it was wearing a knee-length black dress trimmed in white lace, with a small white apron over it. Black stockings, tiny black high-heeled shoes, and a lacy white headpiece completed her clothes. Because of this and the fact that Augusta had called her Tula, both boys were assuming the elf was female. This was confirmed a moment later when the elf spoke in a clearly feminine voice.

"What can Tula do for Lady Augusta?"

Augusta smiled. "Please show young Hadrian," she pointed him out, "upstairs to the guest bedroom where he can get ready for his Confirmation this evening. When you're finished, please bring some tea and snacks to the drawing-room."

Tula nodded before she held out her hand to Hadrian and said, "This way, please, young Master."

Hadrian looked at Petunia, who nodded, before he took the elf's hand and let her lead him out of the room, shouldering the small overnight bag that he was carrying. He wasn't spending the night, but he had packed a bag because there was a ceremonial outfit he had to wear during the Ritual of Confirmation, plus a few other supplies specific to House Potter that he'd needed to bring with him that the Longbottoms couldn't provide.

"If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the drawing-room," Augusta said, as Petunia and Darius nodded and followed her out of the room.

-o-0-o-

Entering the drawing-room, Augusta motioned to the adults seated in the room. "Petunia, allow me to introduce Princess-Dowager Callidora," as she motioned towards a grey-haired woman dressed in red. After they'd shook hands, Augusta said, "I believe you've already met her son, my late husband's cousin, Algernon."

"Indeed, it's a pleasure to see you again, Prince Algernon," Petunia said.

Algernon smiled. "Oh, there's no need for the titles this evening, Petunia. The Longbottoms and Potters have been friends for centuries. I know you're not a Potter, but you are raising one, so that's close enough." Motioning to a blond-haired woman in her mid-fifties, he said, "Allow me to introduce my wife, Cordelia," before motioning towards a blond-haired man who looked to be in his early thirties, "and our son, Warrick."

Petunia shook hands with Cordelia and Warrick, before Augusta said, "And this is Callidora's daughter, Enid, and her husband, Aindreas."

Left unsaid was that Aindreas was Lord MacDougal.

As Petunia took a seat and Tula appeared with a tea service, Augusta smiled at Darius and pointed towards the open doors onto the terrace, as she said, "If you'd like to go outside and enjoy the night air, you may, Darius. I'm sure you'd rather not sit in here with us boring adults."

Warrick smiled. "Yes, my twin boys are out there, with their four cousins, all closer to your age, so you'll probably enjoy their company more."

Darius nodded politely, before he walked outside onto the terrace and saw six people that were indeed much closer to him in age, gathered around a rectangular glass-topped table. There was one girl with blond hair that he was pretty sure was the same age as him, two sets of twin boys, one set with blond hair, the other with black hair and conjoined, and another blond-haired boy who Darius immediately noticed wasn't sitting on a bench as the others were… but was instead sitting in an old, nineteenth-century antique wheelchair.

The girl smiled when she saw Darius and said, "Hello, I'm Morag MacDougal. Who are you?"

"Darius Dursley. Hadrian Potter's cousin."

"Ah, yes, great-gran said he'd be joining Nev for his ritual tonight," one of the blond-haired twins said, as he motioned towards an empty spot on the bench to his left and to the right of the wheelchair-bound boy. "Have a seat. I'm Jasper Longbottom, by the way."

As Darius sat down, Jasper's twin introduced himself as Jesse, before the black-haired conjoined twins introduced themselves as Neall and Niall MacDougal, Morag's elder brothers. Neall was Lord Aindreas's son and heir. The only one who remained silent was the boy in the wheelchair.

Morag smiled and said, "You'll have to forgive my brother," as she motioned towards the wheelchair-bound boy. "Kieran is very shy around new people. With magical healing, wheelchairs aren't exactly a common sight in the wizarding world, so he's often uncomfortable with people he doesn't know very well."

Kieran glared at his sister for a moment, before he said, "Kieran can speak for himself, sis."

"I know," Morag said as she put up her hands in a placating gesture. "But you were being rude and not introducing yourself, so I did it for you."

Kieran, who if Darius had to guess, was about four years old, growled slightly at his sister before he stuck out his hand in Darius's direction and said, "Hi, I'm Kieran." As Darius took the boy's hand, he added, "Call me a freak and I'll run you over with my chair."

Darius looked genuinely confused as he asked, "And why would I call you that?"

"You wouldn't be the first," Kieran said.

The boy's speech and mannerisms made him seem older than he was, but maybe that was just Darius's imagination. Or perhaps being in a wheelchair meant that he spent a lot more time with adults than the average kid. Darius was pretty sure that Kieran wasn't likely to be getting out and playing sports much… Quidditch, winged horse racing, and flying chariot racing being the three most popular sports in the wizarding world. None of which were ideal for somebody in a wheelchair.

"As Morag said," Niall began, "with magical healing, wheelchairs aren't common in the magical world. So I'm afraid many people like to stare at Kieran and call him names because they're not used to seeing handicapped people."

Kieran nodded. "Freak. Ugly. Cripple. Dumby. Stupid. I've been called all of them. The last two make no sense as being in a wheelchair has no effect on my brain."

"That's just mean to call you names," Darius said. "I'm assuming you didn't choose to be in a wheelchair, so people shouldn't make fun of you for that. Of course, they shouldn't even if you did choose it."

"Well, maybe you're not so bad," Kieran said with a smile. "And I didn't choose it." Motioning towards his elder brothers, he said, "Explain it. I can't pronounce it."

It was Neall who said, "Kieran was born with a very rare magical variant of osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as Vrolik's disease or brittle bone disease. Unlike for muggles, the magical variant can be localized to only part of the body. For Kieran, it's just his legs and feet, but the bones in them are basically hollow, so they break very easily."

Jasper picked up the explanation at this, adding, "The magical variant also affects the muscles and tendons in his legs so that they're pretty much in a nearly constant state of atrophy, which is very hard to reverse because almost every leg exercise that could strengthen them requires more pressure than Kieran's bones can sustain without breaking. So as it is now his legs and feet can't support the weight of his upper body."

"If I tried to stand up and walk," Kieran said, "my muscles would give out, I'd fall on my face or my arse and most likely break every bone in my legs multiple times." Shaking his head, he added, "And that's not even the worst of it."

Neall sighed, as he said, "According to his healer, the muscle atrophy is unique to the magical variant, along with a rather nasty skin condition. It leaves the skin on his legs and feet withered and wrinkled to the point that they look like they belong to someone who's over a hundred years old."

"Needless to say, Kieran doesn't wear shorts in the summer," Niall said. "Or ever."

Nodding, Kieran said, "I get enough people staring at me because of the chair. I don't need them to be further repulsed by my legs." He paused for a moment. "Not that anyone could be more repulsed by them than I am."

"And there's nothing that magical healing can do?" Darius asked. "Not even Skelegrow?"

"People with my disease are allergic to Skelegrow," Kieran said. "Lethally allergic."

Jasper shook his head. "Like the muggle version, the magical variant is incurable. There is a treatment for the skin condition that clears it up in ninety percent of cases, but it isn't without side effects."

"Like what?" Darius asked.

"Nausea, fatigue, migraines, and possible liver failure," Kieran listed off, having memorized what his healer had told him. Kieran had an eidetic memory, so it wasn't hard for him to remember things. Honestly, it was forgetting that was hard.

His memory was also the reason that he could speak as well as he could, as he'd basically been picking up vocabulary from the adults in his life from almost the second that he'd exited his mother's womb. Of course, he was still only four-years-old and as such he did have some problems with pronunciation, especially on words that he didn't hear on a daily basis.

Jesse nodded grimly, as he added, "Of course, his healer says that last one is so rare that it's highly unlikely to be an issue. It's only recorded to happen in like 0.5% of cases." He blushed at this point before adding, "The real reason I think his parents won't sign off on the treatment is the last possible side effect: infertility."

Kieran shook his head. "That's hardly an issue. Not like I'll be able to find anyone who can stand the sight of my naked lower body… Merlin knows I can't."

"Oh come on, Key, your legs don't look that bad," Morag said.

"Of course you'd say that," Kieran said. "You're my sister. Your biased and want to make me feel better." Shaking his head, he added, "Besides even if I could find someone when I grow up who wasn't instantly turned off by the wheelchair and my withered skin, there's still the problem of my bones that would probably break a hundred times over during sex."

Everyone at the table, all of them under ten, blushed at this. Some might be surprised that a four-year-old even knew what sex was, but in the wizarding world, especially among the wizarding nobility, parents tended to have the talk with their children at a very young age.

In most cases, it was between four and five and anyone who hadn't had it with their child by the time they were seven was considered to be committing a low-level form of child abuse by not sharing vital information with them.

Of course, that was probably a throwback to a time when many of the magical nobility was considered to be of marriage age as soon as puberty struck… which could sometimes happen earlier in witches and wizards than in muggles.

After this, the six boys and one girl fell into a companionable conversation over a game of exploding snap until their parents came to tell them it was time to head down to the Ritual Chamber.

-o-0-o-

Ten minutes later, everyone gathered in Lakeview Castle's Ritual Chamber, which despite the fact that being called a chamber might lead one to think that it was a room inside the castle, it wasn't. Of course, on their way down, Augusta explained, mostly for Darius, Hadrian, and Petunia's sake since the Longbottoms and MacDougals already knew, that the Ritual Chamber was at one time indoors. However, it was located in the very oldest section of the castle which dated back to King Arthur's day and the roof over the chamber had long since collapsed. It was never fixed simply because almost every ritual in existence was believed to be stronger by moonlight, so why put a roof between the ritual and the moon?

Preparing for the ritual had involved both Hadrian and Neville taking a bath in rose water, drinking a goblet full of a surprisingly good tasting potion, and then dressing in their ceremonial robes. With the exception of the colors—light red for Hadrian, dark red for Neville, both with gold accents—they were exactly the same, consisting of a small pair of silk shorts that were more like underwear than shorts, satin slippers, and a floor-length robe with billowing sleeves that glistened in the moonlight… it was also so sheer that it was almost completely see-through.

While Darius was on the terrace with the younger kids, two more people arrived at the castle, one of whom Hadrian and Darius had met on several occasions since it was their Grandfather Arcturus. He wasn't actually there for Hadrian, however, but in his official capacity as Lord Black, who as the highest-ranked of the vassal lords in the Longbottom's Grand Duchy of North Anglia, had served, since time immemorial, as the Steward of House Longbottom. His position required him to attend Longbottom family rituals unless they conflicted with rituals being held by his own house. Which was rarely a problem, since if there was a conflict, the Blacks were usually invited to share Lakeview's Ritual Chamber, just as they were doing for the Potters this evening.

The other person to arrive was introduced to Hadrian as Lord Nicolas Flamel, the Duke of Pleinmont, who was the highest-ranked of the Potter vassal lords and as such served as the Potter Steward.

As the full moon crested the horizon, Hadrian and Neville stepped up to the stone altar in the middle of the chamber and each poured water from a pair of silver pitchers—one engraved with the Longbottom crest and the other the Potter crest—into a pair of silver basins on the altar. The basins were covered in runes which began to glow faintly as the water filled them.

After replacing the pitchers, the boys spoke in almost perfect unison. They both had to rehearse and memorize what they had to say, although Neville was at a bit of an advantage as he had more than half a day to do so. Luckily for Hadrian, he was sharp and tended to pick things up quickly.

"I, Neville Preston Longbottom, firstborn son of Their Most Royal Highnesses Prince-Elector Franklin, born of the Most Noble House Longbottom, and Princess-Elector-Consort Alice, born of the Common House Barnes, come here tonight in the light of the eighth full moon of the one-thousand nine-hundred and eighty-fifth-year common era to offer my blood as sacrifice to the great goddess, Hecate, and humbly ask that she bless and confirm me as the rightful heir of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Longbottom and to the Grand Duchy of North Anglia."

Hadrian's speech was exactly the same as Neville's, except for the names, houses, and titles being replaced where necessary. In the end, however, there was an additional bit for Hadrian to say after Neville fell silent since unlike Neville's parents, Hadrian's were dead.

"Furthermore, I humbly ask the great god, Hades, to allow my parents, who are his subjects in the Underworld, to bear witness to this most solemn of occasions."

There was silence for a moment before a slight rustle of wind blew through Hadrian's hair and the surface of the water in his basin shimmered slightly before the image of a fancy ancient Greek helmet appeared in the water. This was followed shortly after by Hadrian feeling a sudden warmth and what felt like a pair of hands resting on his shoulders, one with a light more feminine touch and one with a more firm masculine touch. Despite desperately wanting to react to the touch, he stayed still, as Petunia had been very clear that he shouldn't react or the ritual could be spoiled and he'd have to do it again.

As the image of the helmet disappeared from Hadrian's basin, both he and Neville picked up their family athames in their right hands and holding their left hands out over the basins, they carefully pricked their middle fingers, allowing seven drops of blood to fall into the water. The droplets swirled in the water for a few moments, before the water turned red. The runes on the basins were now glowing brightly and after a moment, the wind picked up, upsetting both Hadrian's and Neville's hair.

Not long after this, the blood-red water in both basins began bubbling, slowly at first, but progressively faster as it began threatening to boil over. Just as the water was about to spill out of the basins, however, a cloud of smoke rose up from both of them and formed into two pairs of torches, one pair floating over each basin. There was also a faint noise just barely audible over the wind that sounded like some kind of animal. Hadrian guessed it was a polecat since Petunia had told him that it was one of Hecate's holy symbols.

After hanging in the air above the basins for half a minute, the smoke, still in the shape of paired torches, abruptly flew towards Hadrian's and Neville's faces, but rather than coughing, they could only smile at the feeling of rightness and pleasure that filled every inch of their bodies. To those standing around the ritual circle, the two boys were surrounded in a nimbus of bright silver light as moonlight seemed to pour down from the heavens over their bodies.

The light was gone almost as quickly as it appeared, but just before it disappeared completely, two soft dog barks could be heard on the night air, along with what sounded like the jangling of several keys. With everyone focused on Neville and Hadrian, nobody noticed the barely noticeable smile on Petunia's face or the faint golden glow in her eyes that had appeared the moment the ritual had begun and disappeared as it ended.

-o-0-o-

The day after Hadrian's Ritual of Confirmation, after Vernon had left for work and Sirius and Remus agreed to keep an eye on Chase, as they'd both be home as Remus spent most of the day in bed recovering from the full moon, Petunia decided to take Darius and Hadrian to the library.

Vernon had been doing very well at work, having recently been promoted to head up the entire Grunnings sales division, so the Dursleys were one of the rare families in the neighborhood who actually owned two cars. However, Petunia saw no reason to use her car to take the boys to the library, since it was on Magnolia Road, a street which connected to and ran perpendicular to Privet Drive. It was a beautiful summer day and it was only a ten-minute walk.

On the way to the library, they passed by the playground on the corner of Privet and Magnolia, so since it was such a nice day, Petunia allowed Darius and Hadrian to each go down the slide a couple of times and swing on the swings as they waited for Piers. Petunia had agreed, as she often did, to watch him while Portia picked up a few extra shifts at work. As the alley connecting Wisteria Walk—where the Polkisses and Arabella lived—to Privet Drive came out very close to the park, it was quite normal for Hadrian and Darius to meet up with Piers there.

Once Piers joined up with them, the four of them continued on their walk, passing by the Hopkins residence on their way to the library since it was between the park and their destination. Kevin had already been at Wayne's house, as Kevin had tagged along with his sister when she headed over to visit her boyfriend.

Annabelle and Carl were more than happy to see Kevin and Wayne opting to join Petunia and the others at the library. Part of Petunia was slightly worried about leaving Annabelle and Carl home alone, but then they were both fifteen and old enough to take care of themselves. Honestly, the main reason for Petunia's hesitance was because she knew they were dating and a small part of her worried about what they might get up to if nobody was home to supervise them. Ultimately, however, she knew she wasn't their mother, so it wasn't her place to try to mother them.

As Petunia and the five boys reached the library parking lot a couple of minutes later, it was just in time to see a white sedan pulling into a parking spot. A moment later, a woman about the same height as Petunia got out of the car, prompting Hadrian to ask, "Isn't that Ms. Granger?"

Petunia looked and nodded. It was indeed Helena Granger, who had been Hadrian's and Darius's dentist for the last two years, ever since the dentist that the Dursleys had been taking the boys to—Vernon's dentist since childhood—retired and sold his practice to Helena and her husband Robert.

As Helena had parked in a spot that was close to the walkway leading up to the library, Petunia and the boys had to walk fairly close to her vehicle in order to reach the door to get inside, as the boys knew better than to try to walk on the grass or in the library's flower beds with Petunia around. Just as Petunia was about to say hello to Helena, she leaned down and said, "Hermione, we're here. Can you stop reading your book long enough to get out of the car and go inside?"

The passenger side door of the car opened at this point, although before it was even open half-a-foot, there was a ringing noise, as Helena sighed and reached into the car to grab the car phone.

"Hello, who is this?" Helena asked.

"Honey, it's Rob. I just got a call from the hospital," Helena's husband said over the phone, prompting Helena to sigh.

Today was Helena's day off, as she and her husband alternated their workdays so that somebody was always home with Hermione. Robert, however, did lend his services part-time to the local hospital, should they need a dental surgeon, which sometimes required Helena to come in on her days off to cover his appointments in the case of a dental emergency.

"How bad is it?" Helena asked.

"You may have to cover my appointments for the rest of the day," Robert said. "A boy was just brought into the hospital after being hit in the face with a ninety mile-per-hour cricket ball."

"Ouch," Helena said before she said. "Okay, I'll head over there now. Hermione and I just arrived at the library, but you caught me before we went inside."

Hanging up the phone, Helena said, "Hermione, change of plans. Your Dad has a work emergency and I have to go cover his appointments, so you'll have to sit quietly and read in my office at work."

"But Mum…" Hermione began because she only had twenty pages left of the book she was currently reading and she'd already read every book at her parents' dental practice twice. She'd be bored out of her mind if she had to go sit in her mother's office for the rest of the day.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, but it's an emergency," Helena said, as she sat back down in the driver's seat.

"Excuse me, Ms. Granger?" Petunia asked before Helena could close the car door or get her right leg into the car.

Looking up she smiled and said, "Oh, hello, Mrs. Dursley. I'm sorry I don't have time to talk right now."

"I heard," Petunia said. "If you'd like, I'd be willing to watch your daughter for you."

"I don't want to impose," Helena said.

Shaking her head, Petunia said, "Oh don't worry, it's no imposition. I've already got Hadrian, Darius, and three of their friends with me, one more won't be that hard. Plus, if your daughter is anything like these five, once we get inside and get their noses in books, I won't have much to do." Holding up the tote bag she was carrying, she added, "It's why I brought my knitting."

"Well, if you're sure it won't be an imposition?" Helena asked.

"I'm sure," Petunia said with a smile.

"Okay, thank you," before turning her head to her daughter and said, "Hermione, this is Mrs. Dursley. Her son and her nephew are my patients, so if you want to stay here with them, you may."

"Thanks, Mum," Hermione said, as she quickly reopened the car door and got out of the car.

"I love you," Helena called out before she got the rest of the way into the car and closed her door. Petunia knocked on the car window, prompting Helena to roll it down.

"I don't know how long your appointments will take," Petunia said, "but if we're not here when you finish work, we'll either be at the park on the corner of Magnolia Road and Privet Drive or at my home. It's Number Four Privet. It's only a ten-minute walk from here, so it's not far."

"Okay, thank you again, so much, Mrs. Dursley," Helena said before she backed out of the parking spot and left.

Walking up to the frizzy-haired girl, Hadrian held out his hand and said, "Hi. I'm Hadrian."

"Hi. I'm Hermione," she said as she shook Hadrian's hand briefly, before Darius, Kevin, Wayne, and Piers all took a moment to introduce themselves, before following Petunia inside.

-o-0-o-

An hour later, Petunia was seated in a chair on the edge of the children's section of the library working on her knitting, although she looked up every few minutes to check that her charges were okay. After reading several of the books in the muggle section of the library, however, the five boys were starting to feel a bit restless, as they'd hoped to visit the magical section of the library.

All the boys had been shocked when Petunia told them two months ago that the local library had a secret magical section that was only accessible by those who had magic. Of course, as Petunia explained, almost every library in the UK had one, as a wealthy anonymous wizard—or witch, nobody was actually sure—at the turn of the century had donated a large sum of money to the Ministry and earmarked it specifically for the addition of magical wings to every public library in the UK, so that muggleborns and muggle-raised would have equal access to magical knowledge.

Hadrian, Darius, and their friends had visited it a few times since and had been hoping to do so again today. However, Hermione didn't have magic, so the rules that had been drilled into all their heads were clear. No using magic, no talking about magic, no doing anything that could in any way risk a breach of any kind to the Statute of Secrecy.

The boys, however, really wanted to visit the magical section, so silently through a series of looks and subtle gestures, they all agreed to get up and head towards the stacks, making it look like they were returning some of the books they'd already read and getting new ones. Of course, one by one, they'd snuck through the rows to the empty brick wall between two shelves.

None of the muggles paid it any mind, as there were Notice-Me-Not Charms and other magical security spells cast over the whole area which ensured that nobody who wasn't magical would be able to see anyone passing through the wall into the magical section.

Hadrian, Darius, Wayne, and Kevin had all made it through the wall and Piers was just about to do so when one of the other parents who'd brought their children to the library coughed. Piers didn't pay it any mind and proceeded to walk through the wall. The only problem was that Piers didn't have eyes in the back of his head, so he never saw the shocked expression appear on Hermione's face as she looked up from her book at the cough only to see Piers's back, as he walked through a solid brick wall and disappeared.

Hermione shook her head, as she thought, 'Where'd he go? One second he was there and the next he was just gone…'

Setting her book aside, Hermione stood up and headed for the stacks. She rationalized that she had to be hallucinating because it was impossible for her to have seen what she thought she saw. People didn't just walk through walls. Although as she finished looking up and down every row of shelves in the children's section and couldn't find Piers, or Hadrian, or Darius, or Kevin, or Wayne, she wondered if maybe she had cracked.

Her father had once warned her to not forget to live her life and experience things in the real world rather than just reading about them. He said that while reading was great, it wasn't healthy to spend the majority of every single day reading to the exclusion of almost everything else.

Casting confused eyes over the last row of books, Hermione found herself in the one part of the children's section that she usually didn't go into because she didn't really think of comic books as being all that interesting. Although as her eyes landed on a Casper the Friendly Ghost comic, she couldn't help but wonder if maybe Piers was a ghost and that's how he'd walked through a wall.

Shaking her head, Hermione thought, 'Oh come on, get a grip. Ghosts aren't real. Besides Piers wasn't see-through so he can't be a ghost.'

Deciding there was nothing else she could do she left the stacks and walked over to where Petunia was seated. Clearing her throat she softly asked, "Um, Mrs. Dursley?"

Looking up, Petunia smiled at Hermione and said, "Yes, Hermione?"

"I can't find the boys," Hermione whispered. She debated saying it out loud because she was sure she'd sound crazy, but after a moment, she said, "I thought I saw Piers walk through a wall."

Petunia looked past Hermione and saw that the boys had indeed disappeared. It didn't take long for her to figure out what had happened. However, if Hermione had in fact seen Piers walk through the wall into the magical section…

Quickly packing up her knitting, Petunia stood and motioned for Hermione to follow her. As they reached the wall, Petunia smiled and whispered, "Place your hand against the wall and tell me what you feel."

Hermione looked confused but as she'd been taught to do what adults told her to do—at least the ones that she knew her parents trusted—she raised her right hand and laid it against the wall. She expected to find just a solid brick wall, but she let out a soft yelp of surprise when the fingers of her hand passed through the wall.

Petunia smiled as she watched this, realizing that Hermione was clearly magical. Still, they were in the muggle library and while the spells around the entrance to the magical section prevented muggles from seeing what was going on near the wall, it didn't prevent them from hearing anything that was said near it. So, placing her hand on Hermione's shoulder, Petunia gently guided the girl through the wall to the other side, where they could speak safely.

Looking down at the stunned girl who was looking around at this whole new world she found herself in, Petunia knelt down to Hermione's level and said, "Welcome to the magic wing, Hermione."

"The magic wing?"

"I'm a witch, Hermione," Petunia answered. "Darius, Hadrian, and their friends are wizards." With a reassuring smile, she then added, "And the fact that you're standing here in this part of the library means that you're a witch too."

"Petunia, I was wondering where you were," the librarian said, as he walked over to her. "I saw Darius, Hadrian, and their friends come in, but I got worried when I didn't see you."

Jackson Sterndale was a muggleborn wizard and one of Petunia's house and year mates at Hogwarts. He had also been her first kiss, back when then they were both fourteen and thought that maybe they could try being a couple. Of course, that was before Jackson realized that he preferred men, so ultimately it didn't work out. Not that Petunia was upset, because if she and Jackson had worked out, she wouldn't have married Vernon and she probably wouldn't have Darius.

"Yes, they snuck in here while I was knitting," Petunia said. "I'm babysitting for Hermione here and I thought she was a muggle… until she told me she saw Piers walk through a wall."

Jackson smiled. "Well, Hermione, I'm sure you must have a ton of questions. What do you say we go over to my desk and I'll grab you some books to answer them, while Petunia tracks down the boys?"

While Jackson was the youngest librarian she'd ever seen, Hermione had little trouble figuring out that's what he was. He'd been sitting behind what was clearly the librarian's desk when she entered and he was wearing a nametag that identified him as the librarian.

"You can trust Jackson, Hermione," Petunia said. "We went to school together and I consider him a friend."

Hermione nodded and followed Jackson over to his desk, as Petunia began searching for her wayward son, nephew, and their friends. They had a scolding waiting for them.

-o-0-o-

Hadrian and Darius and their friends were all looking somewhat dejected as they followed Petunia and Hermione to Magnolia Park, after two hours in the library. While Petunia didn't have any authority over the punishment meted out by Kevin's, Wayne's, and Piers' parents once they got home, while they were in her care, she could punish them at least a little.

Jackson offered to watch Hermione and answer her questions about magic until Petunia decided that their outing was over, so Petunia opted to take the boys out to the muggle section of the library. She then proceeded to give them each a list of thirty words which she told them to look them up in the dictionary and write down their definitions. Of course, to make sure they couldn't copy off of each other, none of their lists contained the same words.

Arriving at the Park, Petunia said, "You have half-an-hour to play. All but Hermione, I suggest you enjoy it while you can. Darius, Hadrian as soon as we get home, you're grounded for a week. Kevin, Wayne, Piers, you're forbidden to see, play, or communicate with them in any way during that time. I will be calling each of your parents."

All five boys groaned at this, but one look from Petunia and they shuffled off towards the swings to enjoy their last half-hour of playtime before they were all grounded. Because while Petunia couldn't ground Kevin, Wayne, or Piers, none of them had any doubt that their respective parents would ground them when they found out that they'd disobeyed Petunia, snuck away from her, and potentially risked breaking international law.

Sitting down at a picnic table with Hermione, Petunia wordlessly cast a Silencing Charm around the table, her wand hidden from view under the table.

"Now, did Jackson tell you that you can't tell anyone about magic?" Petunia asked.

Nodding, Hermione said. "He did, yes. Does that include my parents?"

"Yes, it does. Now I understand that you probably don't like keeping secrets from them. But it won't be for long, I promise you. As soon as I get home I'll contact Professor Dumbledore. He's the Headmaster at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. He'll make sure that someone comes to your home soon to officially introduce you and your parents to the magical world."

Hermione nodded, at which point Petunia told her that if she had any other questions that Jackson hadn't already answered for her, she could try to answer them. This opened the floodgates, so to speak, as Hermione spent the next half hour asking about as much as she possibly could. As she was taking everyone home, Petunia couldn't help but think, _'Such a smart girl. If she's not a Ravenclaw, I'll eat my garters.'_

-o-0-o-

_**11 August 1985…**_

After nearly four years in a coma, all Gideon wanted to do was get up and get out of the bed that he'd been in for most of that time. Unfortunately for him, his body wasn't being very cooperative. The healers and nurses at St. Mungo's had done what they could to keep him in good physical condition, but nobody can simply stop moving for two months shy of four years and not have any problem with resuming a normal, active lifestyle.

He'd insisted on trying to go to the bathroom himself, without any help when he'd had to go and Miriam had offered to call some orderlies. While he'd managed to throw back the blanket and swing his legs off the bed without too much difficulty, the real problem had come when he'd tried to stand up. Almost immediately he realized what a bad idea it had been when his knees buckled and he almost fell face first against his still comatose brother's bed.

Thankfully, his now teenage nephews—and he was still having trouble wrapping his head around that—Bill, who was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team at Hogwarts, and Charlie, who would no doubt be trying out for the team now that he'd be starting his second year in less than a month, had quick enough reflexes that they managed to catch him before his legs crumpled beneath him and he hit his head on his brother's bed.

As Bill and Charlie got him back onto the bed and then helped him get his legs back up onto it, because no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do it, he was almost cursing himself for asking that the feeding tube and catheter be removed. He was awake and showing no signs that he was about to drop back into a coma, so he'd wanted it all gone. He wanted to return to some normalcy, which is why he'd insisted on wanting to eat real food instead of the nutrient potions he'd been subsisting on for the last several years. That, of course, had led to needing to go to the bathroom.

Settling himself back against the pillows further propping up his back than the raised head of the bed did, Gideon shook his head and said, "This sucks. I feel weaker than a baby right now."

Charlie sat on the edge of his uncle's bed and laid a comforting hand on his knee. Their father had dropped them at the hospital this morning on his way to work, as the Potter Heir going through his Claiming a few days ago had meant an uptick in work for all the vassal lords who held positions in Cambria's Grand Ducal Household.

As the barrister to House Potter, Lord Arthur Weasley, the Viscount Ravenstone, didn't have quite as much work to do as say the family solicitor—Lord Padraig Fontaine, the Baron Mathry—and certainly not as much as steward Nicolas Flamel, but his presence was still required more often now than it had been in the interim between James's passing and Hadrian's Claim. There were certain things that needed either the Lord or the Heir to sign off on that couldn't be done when there were neither.

Molly hadn't arrived yet, although Bill and Charlie weren't surprised, as she had to wrangle Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny out of bed—an often particularly hard task for the latter two—and make breakfast for them all, and wait for Arthur's mother to arrive to watch them, before she could come to the hospital. Percy and the twins wanted to come see Gideon, but Molly didn't want to overwhelm him with too many people all at once. She was afraid that he'd already been overwhelmed by the information he'd insisted on getting as soon as he woke.

Bill was about to open his mouth and say something to comfort his uncle, but before he could a dry, scratchy voice said, "So what else is new?"

Almost as one, Bill's, Charlie's and Gideon's eyes widened as they turned towards the other bed and saw Fabian moving his head, as he blinked his eyes open and closed at a rapid pace. Without a word, Charlie got up and headed over to the other side of the ward where Miriam was doing her rounds to let her know that his other uncle was coming out of it.

As Bill pressed his wand against the rune that would raise Fabian's head and provided him with some much-needed water, Gideon smiled brightly for the first time since coming out of his coma and said, "It's about bloody time you woke up, you sleepyhead."

After drinking the water and coughing a few times, Fabian said, "I haven't been sleeping that long, Gid, so stop making it sound like I've been sleeping the whole day."

With a raised eyebrow, Gideon smirked at his little brother—yes, they were twins, but Gideon was older by three-and-a-half minutes—and said, "Yes, Fab, not that long… just three years, nine months, three weeks, and three days."

"That's a pathetic attempt at a joke, Gid."

"Not a joke, Fab. Look around you. We're in St. Mungo's and the redhead that just gave you water isn't an orderly. It's Bill. As in Molly's Bill… our nephew."

It was almost funny how fast Fabian's head turned back to look at Bill as he did a double-take. "Bill? No… it can't be."

"It is, Uncle Fab," Bill said. "I know this is going to come as a shock, but it's the 11th of August… 1985."

Fabian blinked and swallowed a few times, before he asked, "1985? How? Where the bloody hell did the rest of 1981 go? Or 1982, 83, or 84 for that matter?"

"We slept through them, Fab," Gideon answered. "I repeat we're in St. Mungo's. In the Janus Thickey Ward where we've both been comatose for almost four years."

Looking over at his brother, Fabian said, "You don't look comatose."

"Well, that's because I woke up, you dolt."

"When?"

Gideon grinned. "Yesterday… so not the first time I've beaten you and it won't be the last."

Fabian groaned. "Nearly four years in a coma and he still won't let me forget that he was born three bloody minutes before me."

"Three-and-a-half minutes," Gideon corrected, stressing the 'a-half' part.

Shaking his head, Fabian said, "Well you're just as insufferable as you've always been." He then turned to Bill and looked at him for a moment, before he said, "Billy? That's really you?"

"Yeah, Uncle Fab, it's me," Bill said with a smile. Nobody had called him Billy since his twin uncles had been hurt.

"So, if I've been out for nearly four years that would make you…" Fabian scrunched up his face for a moment. Maths had never been his strong suit and his brain was still a bit foggy after so many years asleep.

"14, almost 15," Bill answered. "It's the 11th of August, so my birthday is in a little over three months."

"So that means you're at Hogwarts now," Fabian said.

Bill nodded. "Yup, about to start my fourth year. I'm in Gryffindor."

"Good man," Fabian said, as he gave his nephew a high five. "So, wait, that means Charlie is at Hogwarts too, right?"

"Yup, about to start my second year," Charlie said as he came back over. Miriam said she'd just finish up with the patient she was checking the vitals on and then she'd be right over. "Also in Gryffindor."

Looking around and not seeing anyone else, Fabian asked, "How are you two even here? Did something change while I was out and they lowered the age to get an Apparition license?"

Bill shook his head. "No, it's still 17. Dad dropped us off on his way to work. He's had a lot more to do ever since Prince Hadrian claimed his heirship a few days ago."

"Mum will be here eventually," Charlie added. "But she's gotta get Percy, the twins, Ron, and Ginny up and fed. And wait from Grandma Cedrella to arrive to watch them."

"I'm told getting Ron and Ginny up is particularly hard," Gideon said. "At five and four, they're very stubborn when they want to do something… like staying in bed."

"Ginny is four? Last time I saw her she was only a couple of months old!" Fabian exclaimed before he made his nephews grin by adding, "Oh sweet Merlin's hairy ballsac."

"Fabian Wolfgang Prewett! Language!" Molly said in a stern voice as she heard what her brother had said as she entered the ward. She was one of the few people who could not only tell Gideon and Fabian apart in looks but also their voices, which most people couldn't. Before he could respond, however, he had a crying Molly Weasley pulling him into a hug as she whispered in his ear, "Oh I'm so glad to have you back, baby brother."

-o-0-o-

After the happy reunion, Miriam came over and ran a complete diagnostic on Fabian, giving him a clean bill of health. With a smile, she said she'd go add Fabian's name to the physical therapy department's schedule and send one of the male nurses in to remove his feeding tube and catheter. The happy family of five spent several minutes catching up before everyone sobered when Fabian asked where Marlene and Dorcas were.

Needless to say, Fabian was just as devastated as Gideon had been upon learning that Marlene and Dorcas were dead. With a quick spell from Molly to enlarge it and some help from Bill and Charlie, Gideon crawled into bed with his twin and held him. It was only once Fabian was wrapped in Gideon's arms that Molly broke the bad news that their father was also dead.

It was several long minutes before either of them felt like they could speak a word. Before they could, however, two new people entered the ward. A young boy and a woman whose very distinctive hat—not many people wore hats with stuffed vultures on them—made them instantly recognizable. They both paused when they saw Molly, Bill, and Charlie, sitting on the edge of an enlarged hospital bed that contained a very much awake Gideon and Fabian Prewett.

With a smile, Augusta ushered her grandson over and said, "Gideon, Fabian, you're awake." Smiling at Molly, she added, "You must be so thrilled."

While it was true that Molly was a Viscountess due to her marriage to Arthur and the niece of a Marquess, propriety still demanded that she acknowledge the Lady Longbottom's superior status, as the daughter of a Duke and widow of a Grand Duke.

"I am, Your Highness," Molly said, as she stood and curtseyed, while Bill and Charlie stood and bowed. Gideon and Fabian, of course, as hospital patients were exempt from doing so.

"We all are," Charlie said with a grin to his uncles.

Gideon and Fabian returned the grin, as they said in perfect unison, "None more so than us."

Augusta chuckled at that, as she nodded. "Yes, I'm sure that's very true."

Looking at the boy standing next to Augusta, Gideon asked, "Is that Neville?"

Realizing that Gideon and Fabian hadn't seen her grandson since November of 1981—and he'd obviously grown since then—Augusta nodded and said, "Yes, it is."

"I know I shouldn't be surprised," Fabian said. "Children have a tendency to grow up, but it's still jarring to see the changes in people we'd met before we went into our comas."

"Yes, I didn't even recognize Bill and Charlie at first," Gideon said. "Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny haven't been to visit since we woke up but I'm sure it would be much the same for them."

"I'm surprised you haven't brought them all over yet," Augusta said to Molly. "How long have they been awake?"

"Gideon woke up yesterday," Molly answered. "And Fabian only about an hour ago now. I was tempted to bring the others with me this morning, but I thought that might be a bit too much for them, all at once. Now I've got double the reason to bring them due to Fabian waking up too." She sighed at this, before adding, "Although I'm not sure that'll mean much for some of them."

At the confused looks, Bill elaborated. "Ron and Ginny were both very young when Uncle Gideon and Uncle Fabian slipped into their comas. Ron was only a few months past being a year old and Ginny was only a few months old. So they have no memories of them."

"We've tried to build connections for them through stories and pictures," Charlie added, "but being so young, it's hard for them to care about people they've never really met. Or at least, can't remember meeting."

Molly nodded. "They know that Gideon and Fabian are important to me, but they don't have any real connection to them."

Augusta nodded. "I suppose that makes sense. I fear Neville is in much the same boat. The family and I have done our best to combat it, but the fact remains that he doesn't remember Frank and Alice in anything but their current state."

Gideon and Fabian both perked up at this, as Fabian asked, "What's wrong with Frank and Alice?"

With a sigh, Neville walked over to the bed to the left of Fabian's and pulled back the curtain which had been shut the entire time that the Prewett twins had been awake. Once it was pulled back, however, the twins were met with the sight of Frank and Alice Longbottom, lying together in a magically expanded bed. Both clearly awake, but simply staring off into space. With the curtain pulled back, the charms that prevented any sounds they made from disturbing Gideon and Fabian were also lowered, so they were able to hear it when Frank and Alice would occasionally mutter complete gibberish.

Augusta closed her eyes for a moment, before she said, "They were captured by the Death Eaters the same night that you two went into your comas. Barty Crouch, Jr. along with Rodolphus Lestrange, his brother Rabastan, and his wife, Bellatrix, to be precise."

Molly frowned and said, "They were both held under the Cruciatus Curse long enough to break their minds beyond repair."

Augusta nodded. "I keep hoping for a miracle, but so far it doesn't seem to be in the offing."

"Oh gods, I'm so sorry," Gideon said. "Frank and Alice were good people who didn't deserve that. Honestly, I wouldn't wish that fate upon my worst enemy."

Fabian nodded, before he remembered something and asked, "Wait, Lestrange? Aren't they one of your vassal houses?"

"Yes, they are," Augusta confirmed. "Rodolphus's and Rabastan's cousin, Lord Constantin Lestrange, disowned them and together with Lord Arcturus Black, annulled Rodolphus and Bellatrix's marriage. That technically de-legitimized their son and daughter, but Constantin and his wife blood-adopted them as their own in order re-legitimize them since they were only three and one at the time and can't be held accountable for the actions of their parents."

"All four of them were sentenced to life in Azkaban without the possibility of parole," Molly added. "Which is getting off rather lightly in truth, as attacking the sitting Grand Duke and his wife to whom their family owes fealty is technically an act of high treason, so the death penalty would have been an option. It was only their noble blood in the case of the Lestranges and the fact that his father was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the case of Barty Jr. that saved them from execution."

"Well, that and the fact that the imposition of the death penalty requires a unanimous vote of all seven Grand Dukes and the King," Augusta said. "Which simply wasn't possible at the time, considering that House Longbottom and House Potter were both without sitting Grand Dukes. Of course, Lords Cornfoot and Thomas have always been vehemently opposed to the death penalty, so there's a strong possibility that even if the Lord's Council could have voted, that it wouldn't have passed."

"Anyone else die or get attacked that night?" Fabian asked.

"Lord Thackeray Nott died," Molly answered. "The Death Eaters had overwhelmed the Order and had them cornered, forcing Albus to use Protego Diabolica to protect them. Thorald Mulciber pushed Lord Nott into the flames and was sent to Azkaban for it when he was caught a year later."

"That's interesting," Fabian said. "But I did mean on our side, not the Death Eaters."

"Caradoc Dearborn is missing and presumed dead," Augusta revealed. "His body was never found, however, so he won't officially be declared dead for another three years, as he'd need to be missing for seven years."

Molly sighed. "Benjy Fenwick also died. It would appear that he was," she hesitated for a moment, before finishing, "blown apart by a Bombarda, as they only ever found pieces."

"Bloody hell," Gideon said. "As sad as I am that Marlene and Dorcas are gone, I'm grateful at least that if they had to go that it was by the Killing Curse. At least they didn't suffer."

Fabian nodded. "Yes, being blown to bits would definitely be more painful."

"Albus and many others in the Order like to believe that Benjy died instantly," Augusta said. "We'll never know for sure, of course, as we can't even be sure if the Blasting Curse is what ultimately killed him. There wasn't enough left of him to determine if that was all he was hit with."

"Eeek," Gideon said. "No point dwelling on it, I suppose. There's nothing we can do to change it. All we can do is pray that he found peace in the Underworld."

"Indeed," Molly said, before Neville and Augusta went over to Frank's and Alice's bed, as Augusta pulled the curtain shut so that she and Neville could visit with them privately, while Molly, Bill, and Charlie did the same with the twins.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

And there you have Ch3 of 'The Seventh Olympian'. So, Hadrian will be a powerful Lord someday and we learned a bit more about the government in Albion and Iwernia in this story. Figured I wanted to do something a bit different from my other stories. And now Fabian is awake, as well.

Those of you reading this on Archive of Our Own are probably already aware of the future main pairing for this story, as it's listed in the tags. But for those of you reading this on FFNet, the main pairing will be Hadrian in a harem pairing with two original characters and one canon character from each fandom that this story crosses over with: Cedric Diggory (Harry Potter), Kol Mikaelson (The Vampire Diaries), Adam Milligan (Supernatural), and Jordan Parrish (Teen Wolf). There will be additional members of Hadrian's harem (as suggested by the cover image on FFNet) but I choose not to reveal those names at this time.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my LiveJournal (JayColin), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at .


	4. Chapter 4

The Seventh Olympian

Written By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relates to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, and Teen Wolf are the property of their respective creators, publishers, and production companies. I'm not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone's copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books or other media.

Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Background Het, Violence, Language, Canon Divergence, Crossover, Harem

**Author's Note:** This chapter contains more time jumps. While I do want to show Hadrian's childhood and how it differed from canon, I imagine most people reading this would prefer to get to more interesting sections of the story sooner. Like attending Hogwarts and old enough to be dating. Not to mention getting to the crossovers for the fans of those fandoms. So, to that end, over the course of this chapter, along with chapters five and six, a few events for each year of Hadrian's childhood will be shown, between the ages of six and ten.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Four

-o-0-o-

_**31 October 1986…**_

On the morning of the five-year anniversary of the deaths of James and Lily Potter, Hadrian was, naturally, a bit quiet and reserved. Halloween had never been his favorite holiday, although his family and friends did their best to make sure that the day wasn't horrible for him, which he appreciated. This particular morning, however, was different from the others, as Petunia had decided that it was time that Hadrian go and pay his respects to his parents.

As they were finishing breakfast, Hadrian asked, "I thought you'd said that Seacliff Castle is locked up tight until I claim the lordship at eleven?"

Petunia nodded. "It is, but only the main castle is under ward lockdown. The grounds of the estate, along with some of the outbuildings and the family mausoleum remain accessible in case they're needed or so that people with permission can go and pay their respects to those entombed there."

Hadrian nodded in understanding as Darius asked, "Who is entombed there, besides Aunt Lily and Uncle James?"

"James's parents, Julian and Katherine Burke Potter," Petunia answered. "King Nathaniel III, his wife, and his parents, Charlus and Dorea Black Potter. And every other member of the Potter family dating back more than two-thousand years."

"More than two thousand years?" Hadrian asked, surprised. "That's a long time."

Sirius grinned. "Well, your family isn't called an Uttermost Ancient house for no reason."

"Indeed," Remus agreed. "That's why your family is considered so old money that they'd make most other old-money families seem nouveau riche by comparison. Of course, the whole Grand Duke and Prince-Elector thing definitely play a role, since the Potter family is one of only eight families in Albion and Iwernia that collects tax income from all the magicals that live on their lands."

Darius looked confused, as he asked, "I thought there were only seven Grand Ducal families?"

"There are," Petunia replied. "There's eight families, however, because each of the seven Grand Dukes collect income from their Grand Duchies, while the elected King collects taxes from the Archduchy of Britannia, which comprises the magical counterparts to the muggle counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Middlesex, Surrey, Sussex, Kent, and Hampshire, in addition to the Isle of Mann and the county of Dublin in Ireland."

"So we're in this Archduchy of Britannia?" Vernon asked.

Shaking his head, Remus said, "No, we're in Surrey in the muggle United Kingdom. The magical counterpart of Surrey in Albion is completely separate." At Vernon's confused look, he added, "Powerful ancient magic that dates back to the days of King Arthur, more than five hundred years before the Norman Conquest created what is essentially a magical copy of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Ireland. The vast majority of non-muggleborn witches and wizards actually live there, along with the majority of magical creatures."

"It's pretty much the same worldwide," Sirius revealed. "Almost every single country on the face of the Earth has a separate magical domain, although they all have portals that connect the muggle world to the magical so that the muggleborns can access the magical world."

"Which is why we've been able to keep the magical world a secret for so long," Petunia added. "Because the magical counterparts are technically not in the same dimension as the muggle world, so no muggle technology yet exists that can see into other dimensions. Especially magically created ones, as without the proper spells to ward them, electronics and magic do not mix. In fact, electronics tend to explode around high concentrations of magic."

"The best way that I can explain it is that magic is like supercharged bolts of pure lightning," Remus said. "While the muggles may have some circuitry that could handle the charge, most consumer electronics are not anywhere near strong enough, so their circuitry fries or explodes."

Sirius nodded, and added, "The Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, in cooperation with the Department of Mysteries makes sure that any muggle tech in public areas that are going to come into regular contact with large concentrations of magic are properly shielded. They also Obliviate any muggles who might have been present if something does explode due to magical overload."

"And Gringotts offers shielding services for witches and wizards who opt to live in the muggle world," Petunia said. "Which like most services offered by the goblins is prohibitively expensive. That's also part of the reason why students at Hogwarts aren't allowed to do magic outside of school… a regulation that's widely ignored by the students who grow up in wizarding households in the magical world. Because there it's not really necessary to be as careful about upholding the Statute of Secrecy or not using enough magic to make electronics explode."

"Yes there are no muggles or non-shielded electronics in the magical world," Remus said. "So no need to enforce the Statute as stringently there."

"Why aren't there any muggles in the magical world?" Hadrian asked.

"Well, first off, because they have their own world to live in," Petunia said. "Secondly, while there are spells which allow them to visit and see the magical world—for example, the muggle parents of muggleborns accompanying their children school shopping—it's not ideal long-term. The spells necessary, if cast upon them repeatedly on a long-term basis so that they could actually see and interact with the magical world would essentially weaken their immune systems and make them much more likely to die an early death."

"Muggle's bodies can handle some exposure to magic without any problems," Sirius added. "But not at the level that it exists in the magical world for an extended period of time. There the concentration is so high that it would make them physically ill if exposed for more than a few hours."

"Is Dad okay being around our magic?" Darius asked, concerned as he looked at his father.

Remus nodded. "Your dad is perfectly fine, Darius. The level of magic that he's routinely around is nowhere near enough to affect his health. It's just in the magical world, where there's magic emanating from pretty much every person, plant, building, surface, animal, or object that he would come into contact with and at much higher concentrations, where it would pose a risk. So, living here in the muggle world, he isn't in any danger, but he could never live in the magical world on a long-term basis."

Seeing that everyone was done with their breakfasts, Petunia said, "Okay, if you need to use the bathroom, please do so. Then we're heading for Seacliff." Turning to her husband, she asked, "Are you joining us, Vernon?"

Shaking his head, he said, "No, I was never particularly close or kind to James and Lily, much to my regret now. So I don't think they'd appreciate me visiting their final resting places. Besides, somebody has to stay and keep an eye on Chase. Make sure we don't come home to puddles all over the house and other things."

Nobody had to ask what he meant by that, as they all knew. Thankfully, Chase was house-trained now and there was a flap in the backdoor that was magically charmed so that only he could get in and out through it, but they all remembered that time before he was house-trained where they'd left him alone for a couple of hours and came home to a huge mess.

"Chase is a good dog, aren't you boy?" Hadrian asked as he got down on his knees in front of the beagle.

"Woof!" Chase barked as if to say yes, as everyone grinned.

-o-0-o-

Since Seacliff Castle itself was locked down, Petunia, Hadrian, Darius, Sirius, and Remus went downstairs to the basement fireplace at Number Four and Flooed to Stagwoods House, which was a smaller house on the grounds of the Seacliff Castle Estate that traditionally served as the dower house for the widow of the previous Lord Potter. After they'd all cleaned the soot from their clothes, they exited the house and began the walk through the extensive gardens towards the family mausoleum.

It was as they crested the top of a hill that Hadrian and Darius got their first-ever look at Seacliff Castle in the distance. Darius's eyes widened and Hadrian's jaw dropped, as he asked, stunned, "I own that?"

"Well, technically it's owned by the Potter family," Sirius said, as he knelt next to Hadrian and put his arm around him, as they just took in the sight of the large, ancient castle that was perched on a cliff overlooking the Great Sea of Meredor… also known as the Irish or the Celtic Sea in the muggle world. "So it's held in a special kind of trust known as an entail. Basically, that means that ownership of it always follows the lordship, so if a Lord Potter were to die with no sons to succeed him, even if he had a daughter, she wouldn't get the castle, as it would go to the next Lord Potter, whoever that might be."

"Of course, you're the last living male Potter," Remus said. "So, you're the only one who can inherit it at the moment. Still, it technically remains owned by the family and the Lord Potter is only the steward of it for his lifetime."

"You've previously said that Hadrian is the last living member of House Potter," Darius noticed. "And now you specified last living male as if to suggest that there are other Potters."

Hadrian looked at his guardians at this, a questioning look in his eyes.

"Both are technically true," Petunia said. "There are two living people other than Hadrian who were born into House Potter, however, they both married into other noble families, so they're technically not Potters anymore. They're your father's older first cousins, Electoral Princess-Consort Helena Scamander née Potter, and Princess-Dowager Henrika Thomas née Potter."

"Helena is the wife of Perseus Scamander," Remus explained. "The son and heir of Lord Theseus Scamander, the Grand Duke of South Anglia. Helena's identical twin sister, Henrika, meanwhile, is the Dowager Grand Duchess of Southern Hibernia, the mother of Lord Langston Thomas and his twin brother, King-Consort Cliffton Pendragon… King Logan's husband."

Darius shook his head. "All these titles can get confusing for someone my age."

Hadrian nodded in agreement, as Sirius laughed and said, "Trust me, being older doesn't necessarily make it any easier."

Not long after this, the group continued on their way towards the family mausoleum which was situated behind a large hedge maze in a garden about a mile behind the castle. Thankfully, Stagwoods House was only a quarter of a mile away from their destination, so Hadrian and Darius didn't have to walk over a mile, which at only six years old they weren't likely to want to do.

The group stopped for a moment outside the mausoleum, as Hadrian and Darius took in the ancient stone edifice. Built from Welsh bluestone that was older than Wales itself, considering it was sourced from the same quarries that supplied much of the stone for Stonehenge, the building—at least from the outside—looked smaller than they'd expected. It didn't look anywhere near large enough to hold every member of the family for more than one generation, maybe two at the most, let alone every generation of the family dating back more than two thousand years. However, both boys were aware of the fact that with magic, buildings could be larger on the inside than they appeared on the outside.

The name Potter was engraved in a fancy calligraphic script above the double doors which looked to be made of solid gold. In a slightly smaller font, below Potter, three words were written.

"Familia. Amore. Honoris?" Hadrian asked, stumbling a bit over the unfamiliar words.

"It's Latin," Sirius revealed. "You'll start learning the language when you start at Hecate Institute next year. It translates to 'Family, Love, Honor,' which is the Potter family motto."

Hadrian, Darius, and many of their magical friends were currently all students at the Athena Academy of Basic Studies, which was a magical primary school for young witches and wizards between the ages of five and seven. At seven and continuing through eleven when they started Hogwarts, they'd start at the Hecate Preparatory Institute which shared a campus with Athena Academy in the wizarding village of Rowena's Glen in the Grand Duchy of South Alba, or southern Scotland, in the muggle world.

"Ah, okay," Hadrian said before he looked at his guardians and asked, "Shall we go in?"

"As the Potter heir, we can't go in ahead of you," Petunia said. "You have to lead us."

"Oh," Hadrian said, making his lips form an 'O' shape as he did, before he nodded, took a deep breath, and walked towards the large double doors, the others following two steps behind him. Having a feeling he wasn't meant to push the doors open with his hands—a feat he wasn't even sure he had the strength to do—he closed his eyes for a moment and pushed outward with his magic making the doors open smoothly into the large room beyond… definitely larger inside than it appeared.

As he crossed the threshold a disembodied voice said, "Welcome Hadrian James Potter, Confirmed Heir and Lord-Apparent of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. Enter this sacred place in peace with those who've arrived before you."

"Who or what was that?" Hadrian asked once everyone had entered the mausoleum. They were standing in what Hadrian thought was called an antechamber, with life-size statues of who he assumed to be distant relatives standing proudly in niches all around the room. An archway with red silk draperies embroidered with the Potter family crest was straight ahead of them, flanked on either side by a torch which was burning with a magical blue light.

"According to James," Sirius said, "that was the voice of Edric Potter, the younger brother of the very first Lord Potter, who shortly after celebrating his eightieth birthday contracted a rare magical wasting sickness. In order to avoid what would have been a very slow and agonizingly painful death, he had his consciousness and magical core embedded into the wards on the mausoleum, to act as a guardian over those entombed here."

"Only those of Potter blood or who have permission from one of Potter blood can enter this place," Remus added. "Those who don't meet those requirements would be turned away by Edric… forcibly, if necessary."

Hadrian nodded but otherwise remained silent as he moved forward, the closed draperies parting as he approached to reveal a large stone staircase leading down into the depths. Torches with the same magical blue light lit as he approached, providing a warm blue glow that nicely combated the otherwise impenetrable darkness the stairs had been cast in previously.

"Those who died first are interred closest to the stairs," Petunia said, "so those who arrived before us have no doubt moved far enough away from the stairs that the torches went out, as they light on an as-needed basis."

"Ah, I'd wondered," Hadrian admitted. "Edric said there were others here and yet the stairs were dark."

Petunia smiled at her nephew but otherwise remained silent, as the group descended the stairs into the depths of the mausoleum. At the bottom of the stairs, was a statue of a rather short man—well, short by modern standards, but probably on the tall side for the time period he'd lived in—standing on a granite pedestal in front of a large golden and jeweled sarcophagus. A nameplate proclaimed him to be Lord Eamon Potter, 1st Duke of Granston, born 2892 BCE and died 2653 BCE, aged 239 years.

"The nameplates are magically self-updating," Remus said, having visited the Potter family mausoleum previously when James' grandparents died… he'd already been in hiding under the Fidelius when his own parents died. "Which is why it says BCE or Before Common Era for the dates, which wouldn't have been used when Eamon actually died."

"And why does it say Duke of Granston, instead of Grand Duke of Cambria?" Darius asked.

"Because Eamon never was the Grand Duke of Cambria," Petunia explained. "That title didn't exist until King Arthur created it in 556 Common Era, two months before he died."

Nothing else was said as they moved further into the ancient mausoleum, noting that only the sarcophagi of the lords of the house were golden and jeweled. Consorts had silver and jeweled, while the rest of the family members had bluestone with a few marble accents.

It took quite a while to walk from the stairs further in to the massive mausoleum complex, although it greatly helped that only the lords and their spouses were entombed on either side of the main walkway. Their children, siblings, and other relatives were all further in, allowing for a pretty clear separation of generations.

Hadrian and Darius, with some help from Remus, counted a total of a hundred and forty-nine different Lord Potters between Lord Eamon Potter and the sarcophagus of one Prince-Elector Percival Potter, 1st Grand Duke of Cambria, born 493 CE and died 699 CE, aged 206 years. One thing that immediately caught Hadrian's eye, however, was the name on the consort sarcophagus for Percival Potter… Prince-Elector-Consort Myrddin Potter née Emrys, Grand Duke Consort of Cambria, born 451 CE and died 710 CE, aged 259 years.

"Myrddin?" Hadrian asked. "Isn't that the Welsh version of Merlin?"

Sirius grinned. "Yes, it is. And before you ask, yes, this Myrddin Potter is the famed Prince of Enchanters. Despite the claims from Slytherin House that the famous Merlin was sorted into Slytherin, it wasn't actually the famous one. Just a distant however-many-times great-grandnephew that was named after the famous one."

"The biggest hole in Slytherin's claim that their Merlin was the famed one," Remus said, "is that Hogwarts wasn't founded until the year 990 CE. The famed Merlin Emrys worked alongside King Arthur to build the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia as it exists to this day. The Slytherins, however, in saying that Merlin was one of theirs never explained how Merlin entered Slytherin House as an eleven-year-old boy in 992 CE… 436 years after the death of King Arthur and all the achievements during Arthur's lifetime that had made Merlin famous."

"Most of the muggle legends about King Arthur always depict Merlin as a very old man at the beginning of Arthur's reign," Petunia added. "So, I have heard some Slytherins claiming that Merlin was living his life in reverse and was thus getting younger with the passage of time, so it really was the famous Merlin in their house. That it just took him until 992 to reach 11 years old."

"Which makes no logical sense," Remus said. "First off, because it's impossible to be born an old man and then age in reverse. There isn't a woman on the face of the Earth who could survive carrying a full-grown adult man in her womb for nine months. Secondly, if he was truly living his life in reverse, then he would have only been four years old when he finished Hogwarts in 999 CE, not the 18 that all the school records from that period say."

"The final nail in that argument's coffin," Sirius said, "is that there's tapestries and wizarding portraits of King Arthur with the famed Knights of the Round Table where his Court Sorcerer Merlin Emrys is also depicted. And there isn't a single one of them, at least in the wizarding world, where he's depicted as an old man when Arthur was young. In truth, Merlin was only two years older than Arthur, so hardly old in comparison."

"So I'm related to Merlin?" Hadrian asked.

Petunia smiled. "Yes, you're a direct descendant. The Emrys line went dormant not long after the death of Eleanor of Aquitaine and has never been revived. Of course, whether you have the strongest claim to do so or not, I don't know. Like the Potters, the Emrys family were an ancient line. The only reason that King Arthur didn't make them one of the Elector families is that with the exception of Merlin himself, the rest of the Emrys family had supported Morgana Le Fey in her repeated rebellions and attempts to take Arthur's crown."

"All of them failed, of course, and pretty much decimated the lines," Remus said. "By the time Hogwarts opened, the Le Fey line was extinct and the Emrys line was down to only two people, Lord Emrys, and his son Merlin, who was the one sorted into Slytherin. 153 years after Merlin finished Hogwarts, the last male of the line that bore the Emrys name died and nobody stepped forward to claim their estate."

"Not that there was much of an estate to claim," Sirius added. "Considering that King Arthur, with the famed Merlin's blessing, issued a writ of attainder against the Emrys family for their repeated treason against the crown in supporting Morgana. So the vast majority of their holdings and wealth were stripped from the family and they never really recovered. Only ever able to accumulate whatever each generation was able to raise by themselves during their lifetimes since the attainder prevented inheritance. By the time the line went dormant, all they had was a very small half-acre farm and a three-room farmhouse."

"It was almost a miracle that they managed to afford to pay the tuition for the Merlin that was sorted into Slytherin," Petunia added. "It was lower when the school first opened than it is now, of course, but it was still an expense that not everyone could afford back then. The founders are all on record saying that they wished they didn't have to charge tuition and could teach everyone who needed to be taught, but opening a school and employing teachers and staff isn't something they could do for free."

Hadrian nodded but remained silent as they moved on. Twenty minutes later, they could begin to make out the faint glow of torches that were burning further down the main walkway and another ten minutes of walking allowed them to hear the voices of those that Edric had said arrived before them.

What they heard were clearly prayers being offered up for not only James and Lily Evans Potter, but also for a Fleamont and Euphemia Fontaine Potter. This realization made Hadrian and his group slow their approach, as it would be in bad form to interrupt somebody's prayers.

The group of mourners consisted of two older women and five men that Hadrian guessed were the sons of the two elder women. As Hadrian and his group approached, they were all knelt before the bluestone and marble sarcophagus of Fleamont Potter. With their backs turned to Hadrian and the sarcophagus of Lord Julian Potter, 48th Grand Duke of Cambria also partially blocking their view, the group didn't notice Hadrian's approach until they finished their prayer and stood up.

It was one of the women, identical twins both with short gray hair, who first noticed Hadrian and his group. Hadrian assumed, correctly, that these were the twin sisters that he'd been told of earlier in the day. The woman who noticed Hadrian, even though she technically held a higher rank than him until he claimed his lordship at eleven, curtseyed when she saw him, out of respect for the future lord of her birth house.

Stepping up to Hadrian's left side, Sirius put a hand on his godson's shoulder and said, "Hadrian, may I present Her Most Royal Highness Princess-Dowager Henrika Thomas, Dowager Grand Duchess of Southern Hibernia." Motioning to the younger brown-haired man, who looked to be in his mid-to-late twenties, standing behind and to the right of her, he said, "And her son, His Most Royal Highness Prince-Elector Langston Thomas, the Grand Duke of Southern Hibernia."

"It's a pleasure," Hadrian said, as he put to use what he'd been learning in the etiquette and decorum classes that he'd been taking ever since being confirmed as the Potter heir and took Henrika's hand and kissed it, before shaking hands with Langston.

Motioning towards Henrika's sister, Sirius said, "May I present Her Royal Highness Electoral Princess-Consort Helena Scamander, Duchess of Hawkeridge, and her son, His Grand Ducal Highness Prince Vittorio Scamander, and his husband, His Grand Ducal Highness Prince-Consort Wilhelm Scamander."

Again, Hadrian kissed Helena's hand and shook hands with Vittorio and Wilhelm, before Sirius continued, as he motioned towards the last two men who hadn't yet been introduced, one of whom was clearly the twin brother of Langston, as he said, "Hadrian, it's my honor to present to you, His Majesty King Logan III Pendragon, and his husband, His Majesty King-Consort Cliffton Pendragon."

Hadrian might have wondered why the King was introduced last, as usually, the monarch of a country had higher precedence than everyone else. Since his confirmation, however, in addition to taking etiquette and decorum classes with his Grandma Melania and Nana Irma, he was also taking some basic politics and economics classes with his Grandpa Arcturus and Papa Pollux, with the Potter family steward, Lord Nicolas Flamel, being a frequent guest teacher. Nicolas's wife Perenelle also often joined Melania and Irma for their subjects.

It was because of those classes that Hadrian knew that in almost all matters domestic, it was the Grand Dukes that took precedence. The only time the King had any priority in precedence over them was during official state events, like the State Opening of the Wizengamot, and when foreign monarchs and/or nobility were present.

The King also had precedence if he was hosting an event at any of the royal palaces. The largest and most famous of these was perhaps Dragon's Court Palace, which was located on the River Temesis, about thirteen miles southwest of the City of Londinium. It was originally located on the border between Cambria and South Anglia but was painstakingly disassembled and moved stone block by block to its present location about a hundred years after King Arthur's death.

While the palace was faithfully rebuilt according to its original specifications, two extensive new wings were added as the original building was considered to be too small. Once construction was finished, the complex was renamed Dragon's Court Palace. It's original name, however, was Castle Camelot, and thus it would always hold a special place among the royal palaces as the seat of King Arthur himself.

Like when the King was hosting events at the palaces, the Grand Dukes also had priority over everyone else, including the King on the grounds of their own family estates. So, even if the King was attending an event at Seacliff Castle, the Lord Potter—or Lord-Apparent in Hadrian's case—always had priority over everyone else. After Hadrian, any others of Potter blood or those who'd married into the family would take precedence, followed by the other Grand Ducal families, and then and only then, the King.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesties," Hadrian said as he shook their hands. Despite his lessons, he had to admit that it did feel a little strange to him to not bow before the King since, until his confirmation, everything he'd ever learned about royal protocol from television said pretty much the opposite in terms of what was proper when meeting with Queen Elizabeth. However, he could see the logic in what his grandparents had told him that it didn't make much sense for the aristocracy of Albion and Iwernia to base their protocol on the protocol of a muggle kingdom that was several hundred years junior to it in terms of existence.

At this point, Hadrian took a moment to introduce the members of his own party, although most of them were already aware of who Sirius and Remus were, considering Sirius's role as the confirmed heir of House Black.

"I know that its five years late, but you have my deepest condolences on the loss of your parents, Hadrian," Henrika said. "They were fine people and the world is worse off without them."

Helena nodded and said, "Yes, they stood up to Voldemort when very few were willing to do so and directly defied him not once, but three times. They were true heroes."

Darius noticed that Helena and Henrika didn't flinch at the name of the former dark lord who'd killed his aunt and uncle the way most other people did, which in this case included almost everyone in the room other than Helena, Henrika, and his own mother. A fact which he raised as a question.

"My sister and I were born in 1917, lad," Helena revealed. "So we lived through Grindelwald's reign of terror and to be blunt, while Voldemort was in some ways more sadistic, he still doesn't hold a candle to Gellert Grindelwald. I was also teaching at Hogwarts as one of the junior professors under Defense Against the Dark Arts Department Head Galatea Merrythought throughout Voldemort's—or Tom Riddle as he was then known—entire time as a student. As such, I simply cannot bring myself to be afraid of him. Not when I can think back to the first day of school in 1938 and clearly remember the wide-eyed eleven-and-a-half-year-old boy who soiled himself the first time he saw the Bloody Baron."

Despite the fact that they were all standing in a mausoleum, they all laughed at that, but then they didn't think that any of the people entombed there would mind. In fact, Sirius was sure that James would have wholeheartedly approved… as he would have been the first to start laughing. Remus grinned and said that James would probably have been resisting the urge to fall to the ground and start rolling on the floor laughing at that description of the Dark Lord.

Hadrian and Darius grinned. They could both tell from the slight glint in Remus's eyes that he was perhaps exaggerating just a little bit, but they didn't mind. As they both, Hadrian especially, liked to think of James Potter as the fun and mischief loving Mr. Prongs that featured in Sirius's and Remus's stories of the Marauders.

Nodding, Henrika added, "Besides which, as I've tried—and apparently failed—to impress upon Langston and Cliffton since not long after they got out of their nappies," both of them were visibly embarrassed by this comment, "fearing a name is the height of stupidity. It only serves to increase the fear of the person, which only gives them more power. Something which nobody should do with any Dark Lord."

Petunia smiled. "That's precisely the reason I don't flinch." Although in her head, she added, _**'Or at least the only reason I'm going to give at the present time.'**_

"I would expect nothing less from a fellow Ravenclaw," Henrika said with a smile to Petunia, as Helena added, "Yes, shame on those Ravenclaws who throw all logic and knowledge out with the bathwater when they fall into the trap like the rest of the under-educated masses."

"I'm never going to hear the end of this," Vittorio muttered, since he, like his mother, was a former Ravenclaw, who did flinch at the mention of Voldemort's name.

"No son, you're not," Helena confirmed.

Wanting to change the subject, Logan said, "Anyway, we were just finishing up, so if you'd like to be alone to pay your respects in private, Hadrian, we can leave you to it."

"Thank you," Hadrian said. Not long afterward, his father's first cousins and their relatives were gone, leaving Hadrian alone with Darius and his guardians, as they began paying their respects to James and Lily.

-o-0-o-

Later that evening, Petunia, Sirius, Remus, Hadrian, and Darius arrived at Number 10 Magnolia Road, the home of the Hopkins family, for the Halloween costume party that Keith and Victoria Hopkins were hosting. They'd opted to blend magical and muggle traditions and decorations, so only those they knew had magical ability or knowledge were invited in order to keep a lid on any potential Statute of Secrecy breaches.

Since the guest list had been expanded to include some of the children of the magical nobility that Hadrian and Darius had met and befriended during their time at Athena Academy, however, there was rather extensive use of Wizard Space to increase the interior space of the rather modestly sized Hopkins home. Because of this, Algernon Longbottom had been alerted so that he and the other Unspeakables in cooperation with the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes could keep an eye on the party and try to limit any damage done by any accidental magic that was always a possibility when you had a large concentration of adolescent and younger witches and wizards gathered together in one place.

Heading upstairs to the bathroom with Darius to change into their costume, Hadrian asked, "How did I let you convince me of this again?"

"By me agreeing to do all of your chores for a month," Darius answered.

"Ah, right," Hadrian said. "And why did you want this particular costume again?"

"To make sure you don't try to sneak out of the party," Darius replied. "I know this isn't a good day for you, but I'm pretty sure Aunt Lily and Uncle James would prefer you to be having fun with your friends over sulking alone."

Hadrian sighed. "Fine, let's get dressed then," before he and Darius stripped down to their underwear. Standing in front of the mirror, they carefully applied the makeup that would make their skin look paler and added a bit of red around their lips, before putting in the fake fangs in their mouths. With that done, they began putting on the rest of their costume, which consisted of one of Neall and Niall MacDougal's old sets of formal robes that didn't fit anymore and was just going to be donated to charity.

When they were all done, Hadrian looked at himself and his cousin in the mirror and said, "Well, I guess we look pretty cool. The vampire part does make it more costume-like than just wearing Neall and Niall's old clothes. Though only having the use of one arm is going to be a little weird."

"Yes, but I think we'll be okay," Darius said. "At least we practiced three-legged walking so we won't make complete fools of ourselves."

Every day for the last two weeks, almost as soon as they got home from school—Athena Academy was a day school so they returned home every afternoon—until it was time for bed, Hadrian and Darius had fastened themselves together with one of Vernon's old belts that were now too large for him as he'd lost several pounds over the years. They'd also used some rags to tie their legs together and put their arms that would be inside of the twins' clothing over each other's shoulders, before they began practicing walking, and doing other tasks with only one arm and hand each.

"Or fall flat on our faces," Hadrian said. "Or worse, fall down the stairs."

Darius nodded. "Yes, that would be bad. Shall we go join the party?"

Hadrian raised an eyebrow at Darius in the mirror and said, "Well, I didn't get into this getup with you so that we could spend the entire party in the bathroom."

Darius rolled his eyes but said nothing as they left the room.

It was at the punch bowl about ten minutes later that Neall and Niall approached, and Niall said, "Wow, I'm impressed," as Neall nodded and said, "Yeah, you guys almost wear those clothes better than we did."

"Thanks, guys," Darius said, as he cocked his head to one side and asked, "King Arthur and Merlin?"

Niall nodded. "Yeah. Obviously, the real ones weren't as close as Neall and I, but some concessions had to be made."

"Masquerade balls are also quite common in the wizarding world," Neall said. "And we decided we wanted to do something a little bit different this time than wearing perfectly matched identical clothes and masks like we usually do."

"Well, I think you did a good job, guys," Hadrian said, as he took in what the twins were wearing.

Neall was dressed as King Arthur in the very Romanesque looking armor that was popular in Albion and Iwernia for centuries following Rome pulling out of Britannia. There were a few embellishments that wouldn't have been found on a Roman Legionnaire's suit of armor, of course, such as the golden dragon about to take flight that served as the main symbol of House Pendragon. Both of Neall's legs—as Niall technically only had one— were bare beneath the red tunic that stopped just above his knees, although just to the left of Neall's left leg, the tunic and armor stopped in the kind of perfect blending of materials that were only possible with magic, as Niall was wearing a much fancier ancient wizard's robe that reached all the way to the floor.

Neall had also replaced the traditional Roman gladius with his training wand which he'd gotten upon his ninth birthday two months earlier. Instead of a Legionnaire's helmet, Neall was wearing a replica of the rather simple golden and jeweled circlet that King Arthur was depicted as wearing in the majority of his portraits. His mother had also performed Hair-Lengthening and Dying Charms to make his normally short, black hair, shoulder-length blond.

Niall, meanwhile, was wearing the flowing red ancient wizarding robes that Merlin was often depicted in as the Court Sorcerer, with a tall, pointed wizard's hat on his head, his hair also lengthened to shoulder length but kept its natural black. He too had his training wand in a holster on his belt, and a wooden mage's staff strapped to his back. Feldspar, his Eagle Owl, was perched on his shoulder, in place of Merlin's owl familiar, Archimedes. The owl was pretty chill, just calmly looking around at everyone in the room and giving the occasional hoot but otherwise making no move to get off his friend's shoulder.

Kevin and Piers approached at this point, no introductions being necessary because despite Neall and Niall being pureblood noble students at Hecate and Kevin and Piers being muggleborn commoners at Athena, they all knew each other through Hadrian and Darius. The twins did look a little confused about Kevin's and Piers' costumes, however.

Hadrian picked up on the reason for their confusion and said, "They're dressed as muggle superheroes." Motioning towards Kevin, he added, "Batman," and then at Piers, "and Robin."

"Oh, cool," Neall said with a smile, as Niall nodded. Getting themselves a glass of punch each, they then said their goodbyes as they walked over to their cousins, Jasper and Jesse Longbottom who had decided to get creative and dress as a centaur that had two torsos connected to a single horse's body, albeit one that had three front legs. This was mainly because neither one of them wanted to be the rear end nor had they been able to get more than one person to do so, so they decided to share.

The unlucky soul who ended up stuck in the rear end of their costume being Declan MacDougal, the seven-year-old son of Neall and Niall's older first cousin, Laine, and his wife Lillian. Twenty-seven-year-old Laine MacDougal was King Logan's twin brother.

There were likely many muggles who'd wonder about the large number of twins born to the Albion and Iwernia nobility over the last few decades. It was partially due to twins being more common in the magical world than in the muggle. The larger reason, however, was that several families, after being reduced to dangerously low numbers during the war with Grindelwald and then again during the war with Voldemort, began making use of fertility potions to not only guarantee pregnancies, but also raise the chances of multiples, in order to build their numbers back up so their lines weren't in danger of extinction.

Shaking her head, Morag, who was dressed as a fairy princess, grinned as she came over and said, "Jasper and Jesse had better find a good hiding place when Declan manages to get out of that costume."

"Why?" Piers asked.

Morag leaned in closer and whispered, "Because Jazz and Jess thought it would be a good idea to each eat a large bowl of beans just before Declan arrived to get into the costume with them."

"Wow," Hadrian said, giggling slightly along with the others as they realized exactly what that meant. "I'm so glad I'm not Declan."

Kevin nodded. "Also glad I'm not Jazz and Jess when Declan gets out."

"Why did I ever agree to this?" a male voice asked a couple of minutes later that drew the attention of Hadrian and his friends. Turning his head, Hadrian discreetly put his glass of punch on the table so that he wouldn't spill it as he realized the person who spoke was Carl Hopkins… dressed as Peter Pan, complete with a green sleeveless shirt that left his arms on full display, green shorts that ended several inches above his knees and a pair of green tights that hugged his muscular legs like a second skin.

"Because you love me," Wayne Hopkins said, as he twirled the umbrella in his hands. Those familiar with the muggle world had no trouble recognizing that Wayne was dressed as John Darling, in bedroom slippers, a pair of fake glasses, a floor-length pajama shirt and a top hat.

"Not that much, bro," Carl said, as they joined Hadrian, Darius, Kevin, Piers, and Morag. "Especially not much right now."

Wayne rolled his eyes, as he lowered his voice so that only his friends would hear as he said, "Fine. You did it because I blackmailed you."

Morag grinned. "Do I even want to know what a six-year-old could possibly blackmail his sixteen-year-old brother with?"

"No, you don't," Carl said as he gave his little brother a look which clearly said, _'Tell them, and I will so kick your arse.'_

"What are you going to do? Kick my arse?" Wayne asked, in a mocking tone. "You know if you do, I'll just cry, Mom and Dad will ask what's wrong, I'll tell them you kicked me, and then they'll demand you tell them why. Since you're standing here in tights, I feel safe in saying you'll do anything to avoid that."

Carl groaned and hung his head. "I hate you, just so you know."

"I can live with that," Wayne said. "Besides I know it won't last long. It never does. My charm and my puppy dog eyes always win in the end."

"Enjoy it while it lasts, kiddo," Carl said. "You won't have that ability forever."

"Oh trust me, I will," Wayne said.

"So what are you holding over his head?" Darius asked. "Inquiring minds want to know."

"You do realize, Wayne, that if you tell them, I'm going upstairs to bed and you lose your Peter Pan, right?" Carl asked.

"No, I don't," Wayne said. "Because you see when I blackmailed you, I never said I wouldn't tell my friends. I said I wouldn't tell Mum and Dad. There is a difference. Namely that my friends can't ground you for the rest of your life."

"Oh fine, tell them if you must," Carl said. "The way you're building this up, I know they'll find out sooner or later anyway."

Wayne grinned, as he said, "You can put up a Silencing Charm if you want, you know, so nobody outside the seven of us hears."

Carl pulled out his wand and did just that, before Wayne said, "Back in August, before Hogwarts started, Mum and Dad went on an overnight trip to London, to celebrate their anniversary. They trusted Carl to stay home and babysit me, but as soon as I fell asleep, he left. Mum and Dad took Mum's car to get the train into London, but that left Dad's car still in the garage."

He grinned at his brother and continued, "I woke up at around two in the morning, just in time to catch Carl coming back with Dad's car, which he'd stolen as he definitely did not have permission to drive it. I walked into the garage just as he was trying to magically fix the dents and scratched paint from where he crashed it into a tree. He also hadn't cleaned out the backseat yet, which held all the evidence of his date with Annabelle… including a used condom which he'd forgotten to vanish."

Kevin groaned. "Gross… I so don't need to hear about my sister's… eww."

"Sorry mate," Wayne said before he grinned at Carl and said, "Anyway, I've been milking it ever since, threatening to tell Mum and Dad unless he does everything I tell him to do. Which he's been doing since he knows that he'll never see Annabelle or the outside of this house ever again if they find out because he'll be grounded until he's old and grey."

The only reason Carl was even at the party was because Halloween fell on a Friday this year, so his mother—a member of the Right Ancient and Noble House of Fawley, as Lord Gawain Fawley, the Marquess of Mercia was her first cousin—had gotten Dumbledore's permission to let her son come home from Hogwarts for the weekend.

Wayne certainly wasn't complaining as he was enjoying milking his brother's misdeeds for all they were worth. Some might call it being mean, but he called it just desserts for all the times that Carl had blown him off to hang with his friends. He didn't ask for much, just that his older brother spend a couple of hours a week with him when he was home. Was that too much to ask?

-o-0-o-

_**5 November 1986…**_

Hadrian and Darius were both excited as the day had finally come. Exactly one year ago they had caught Petunia layering Silencing Charms primarily in their bedroom, but also in pretty much every other room of the house, along with charming all the windows to show something other than the actual view out the window. Pressing her on why she was doing it, she finally told them and promised them that they could participate the following year.

As it turned out, there was a celebration for Guy Fawkes's Night, also known as Bonfire Night, that was held annually in Magnolia Park—and other places throughout the United Kingdom—that was an annual event that the muggles celebrated to commemorate the anniversary of the night that the Gunpowder Plot had been foiled… which had been an attempt by a man named Guy Fawkes and others to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London in 1605, and thus kill the members of parliament and King James VI and I.

"Why exactly did they want to kill them all?" Darius had asked at the time, as Hadrian nodded and said, "Yeah, that's not very nice."

Deciding that her son and nephew were a little too young to understand all of the reasons, especially the main one being related to the muggle religions and the fight between Catholicism and Protestantism, she simply said, "Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators didn't particularly like the King… so they hoped to be able to get somebody more suitable to their interests crowned in his place."

"Thankfully, Guy Fawkes was caught and the plot foiled before it could be carried out," Vernon had added. "So, ever since then the anniversary is celebrated by burning effigies of Guy Fawkes on bonfires throughout the UK. In more recent years, fireworks are also shot up, which make a lot of noise which is why Petunia was applying Silencing Charms so that they wouldn't wake you up."

"What are fireworks?" Hadrian had asked.

Petunia and Vernon looked at each other for a moment, before Petunia had said, "If you boys promise to stop asking questions now and that you'll agree to take an afternoon nap with no complaints this time next year, we'll let you stay up past your bedtimes and actually participate in Guy Fawkes's Night next year."

When it looked like the boys were about to complain, Vernon shook his head and had said, "No complaining or you won't only not be allowed to participate next year, but we'll ground you for a week and Chase will have to sleep downstairs instead of in your room. So what will it be?"

Both boys immediately nodded and had said, "No complaining."

"Good," Petunia had said and that was the end of it, at least until about two months ago, when Hadrian and Darius brought it up again to remind Vernon and Petunia that they remembered the promise from the year before and wanted to make sure that they did.

At a few minutes after noon on the fifth, just as the boys were finishing their lunch, Petunia said, "Okay, go wash up and then go to your room and take a nap. I'll be up in a few minutes to check that you're asleep."

Of course, she wasn't actually worried, as Sirius had brewed a mild sleeping potion for her and she'd put a drop each in the milk they'd drank with lunch. Simply because she knew her son and nephew well enough to know that they wouldn't take naps if they could avoid it. They'd try to fake being asleep when Petunia came in to check that they were asleep and then "wake up" as soon as she left the room.

When they woke up about two-and-a-half hours later, Petunia sat them and said, "Okay, now, I know you've found out what fireworks are in the time between last year and now. I should warn you, however, that magical fireworks are different from muggle fireworks, which is what will be used in Magnolia Park. Muggle fireworks are just explosions of color, mostly in round or oval shapes and the occasional spiral or fountain. So, they won't be exploding into far more complicated patterns like animated dragons and other creatures."

"Yes, as much as the muggles would love a magical fireworks show," Remus said, "they'd be a clear breach of the Statute of Secrecy. As would talking about the differences between the two in earshot of people who don't know about magic. So no expressing disappointment that they're not dragons, centaurs, phoenixes, or other creatures."

The boys nodded, and Petunia said, "Now, Vernon and Sirius are in the backyard setting up our own bonfire, so you'll be able to see that aspect of it. There will be a much larger bonfire down at Magnolia Park, but it will be very crowded and I'd be more comfortable doing it here in the backyard, at least until you're older and not as easy to lose sight of in the crowds."

Hadrian and Darius nodded again and didn't complain. They didn't much like getting lost either as it had happened once when Petunia had taken them shopping in a large store in London. They got separated from her and then gotten lost in the store for nearly half-an-hour. When the frantic Petunia had found them, they were tired and scared and never wanted to experience anything like that ever again.

"We'll also be shooting off a few muggle fireworks in the backyard," Remus said, "just as many of the muggle neighbors will be. When the time comes, you'll also be able to see the fireworks at Magnolia Park from the backyard, so we don't have to actually go there and deal with the crowds. Much nicer to just sit back and relax in one of the lounge chairs out back and enjoy it, than to be jostled by a bunch of strangers."

It was at this point that the doorbell rang, and Petunia said, "Now, why don't you go answer that, as I'm going to guess it's your friends. We turned on the pool heater, so the water should be warm enough that you can have a pool party with them while you wait for the sun to go down."

Not long after the pool was put in, the pool heater was also installed, so that the pool could be used almost year-round. The heater itself was an entirely muggle design and to any muggle that inspected it, they wouldn't find anything unusual about it as it still looked like it was connected to the muggle utilities… even though it was powered completely by magic, and thus heating the pool in November wasn't expensive because no gas or electricity was being used.

Hadrian and Darius practically ran to the front door at this and opened it to find Piers, Kevin, Wayne, and Hermione waiting on the doorstep, with their respective parents, many of whom had a dish that they'd brought for dinner later that evening.

These little get-togethers, whether they were at Number 4, Number 5, Kevin's house, Wayne's house, or Hermione's house were frequent enough that the parents involved agreed to help shoulder the costs of the food and drinks for them, as it would be an unnecessary burden on any one of them to supply food and drink for everyone else.

Petunia could have dipped into the money she was getting for acting as Hadrian's guardian which was hers to do with whatever she pleased and was completely separate from the money deposited monthly into his trust vault for his care and upkeep, but she saw no reason to do that if the other parents were willing to help out.

Not long after they came in, some of their wizarding friends from Athena Academy and Hecate Institute began arriving via the basement fireplace. Some of their parents had been a bit leery about letting their kids take part in the celebration of an entirely muggle holiday—as Guy Fawkes's Night had never caught on in the wizarding world—but none of them were about to turn down an invitation to the current home of the future Grand Duke of Cambria.

Four patio heaters—also powered by magic—had been set up in the backyard of Number Four, two on opposite corners of the patio outside the conservatory and another two by the swimming pool, positioned so that the pool ladder was between them. Thus providing a warm place for the adults to sit while they watched the kids in the pool, as well as a place for the kids to get in and out of the pool and not be too cold. Of course, as it happened, they'd gotten pretty lucky with the temperature, with the day's high being on the high end for November.

Darius, Kevin, Wayne, and Piers were all on one side of the pool, along with Neall, Niall, Jasper, Jesse, Neville, and Declan, as they took turns splashing and trying to dunk each other. Hermione and Morag were seated on the patio with the adults, both with books in their laps, while Hadrian was wading calmly on the opposite end of the pool with a few new faces that he'd only just met that day. He wanted to spend some time getting to know them, however, since he was related to them through his father's cousins, Henrika and Helena.

One was Helena's grandson Jakob, the only living child of her son Vittorio and his husband Wilhelm. They'd had two others, bad sadly, the eldest, a daughter, had been born with a rare heart defect that even magic couldn't fix and had died at only eight months old, while the middle child, a son, had succumbed to the same outbreak of Dragon Pox that had taken Hadrian's grandparents, Julian, and Katherine Burke Potter. This left only Jakob Scamander, the handsome blond eighteen-year-old former Hufflepuff.

The rest of the new faces, ten of them in all, were Henrika's grandchildren, three being the sons of Lord Langston Thomas with his wife, and the other seven being the sons and daughters of his brother Cliffton with King Logan. Langston's sons were a set of nine-year-old identical triplets: Grantley, Grantham, and Graham, while Cliffton's were five-year-old triplets, Tara, Zara, and Carrick, seven-year-old Alanna, nine-year-old Ryan, and eleven-year-old Micheil and Finlay.

Hadrian had been a bit taken aback upon meeting the King's eldest sons, as while having previously met Neall and Niall had sort of prepared him on the conjoined twin front, Micheil and Finlay were connected in a much more extreme fashion. Where Neall and Niall were two relatively separate people, each with their own body, albeit, with only two arms and three legs between them, Micheil and Finlay shared everything from their necks down. This resulted in them being a bit broader shouldered than most kids their age in order to fit two necks and heads on their shared body.

"So, if you're eleven why aren't you at Hogwarts?" Hadrian asked them, upon learning their age.

"Late birthday," Micheil answered. "You have to be eleven on or before 1 September to start Hogwarts, but we were born on 25 October."

"Which means we have to wait until next year to start," Finlay added. "A year behind many of our friends."

"Well, that kind of sucks," Hadrian said, as several of the others nodded in agreement.

Micheil nodded and said, "Yeah, but it's fine."

Ryan smiled, "That admission rule dates back to the founders. So, our Dad might be the King and our uncle a Grand Duke, but I don't see that rule getting changed anytime soon. So, Mic and Fin have pretty much no choice but to deal with it."

"I suppose the Board of Governors could change it," Alanna said, "although if they haven't done it yet, after over a thousand years, it's unlikely they'll opt to do so now, especially when there are other far more important matters for them to be dealing with."

"Who are the governors anyway?" Hadrian asked.

"House Ollivander, currently led by Lord Garrick Ollivander, has a permanent position on the board," Finlay said. "Due to Hogwarts being in the Ollivanders' Grand Duchy of North Alba and their traditional role on the King's Privy Council as the Master of Education."

"There are twelve seats in total," Carrick said. "Two more which are held by Grand Dukes, although they alternate every seventy-five years."

"Currently, it's our Granduncle Aindreas and Lord Quentin Cornfoot," Tara added.

Nodding, Graham said, "Five seats are held by the lesser nobility, so one baron, one viscount, one earl, one marquess, and one duke."

"The nobles at each level vote by secret ballot whenever a spot opens," Grantley revealed.

Grantham finished, "The other four are commoners that Uncle Logan appoints to twenty-five-year terms on the advice of the Privy Council."

"The Privy Council are, of course, the Grand Dukes," Micheil added. "Plus the current King's Consort and the Lord-Mayor of Londinium."

Finlay nodded. "Technically, the Minister for Magic and the last two elected monarchs, assuming they're still alive, are also Privy Councilors, but they're very rarely if ever summoned to take part in meetings or decisions, as their positions are more or less honorary."

"And the seven Grand Dukes are enough to form a quorum," Ryan added. "So between the Grand Dukes and the King-Consort, there's not much the others can do."

"Nope, there isn't," Grantham answered. "Of course, King Logan's brother Laine is the current Lord-Mayor of Londinium, which is another position which is appointed by the King on the advice of the Council."

Not long after this, King Logan's daughters and the Thomas triplets decided to join the others on Darius's side of the pool, leaving Hadrian chatting with just Micheil, Finlay, Ryan, and Carrick. They talked about Quidditch and a few other topics, before Carrick asked, "So, this holiday we're celebrating… what exactly is it for?"

"It's too celebrate the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot," Hadrian answered.

"What's that?" Ryan asked before he got a confused look on his face and asked, "And what's gunpowder?"

Sirius and Remus had warned Hadrian and Darius before the party that Guy Fawkes's Day had never really caught on in the wizarding world, despite the attempts of some muggleborns to import it. So, they'd discussed a few related topics which would allow Hadrian and Darius to explain it if they were asked questions.

"Gunpowder is an explosive compound," Hadrian said. "It's like a black colored powder, which is why it was sometimes simply called black powder. When lit on fire it explodes, so almost like a Blasting Curse, only without magic."

"Ah, okay," Micheil said. "So what was this plot?"

"A group of people, including a man named Guy Fawkes," Hadrian answered, "were unhappy with Parliament—the muggle version of the Wizengamot—and the then muggle King—James VI and I—and wanted them dead. So, they rented out a bunch of warehouse space which just so happened to be in the basements under where Parliament met and filled it with barrels of gunpowder."

"Ah, so they were going to ignite it and blow them all up?" Finlay asked, realizing where this was likely going.

Nodding, Hadrian said, "Yup. Guy Fawkes was the one who was supposed to light the powder, but somebody in the group got cold feet and leaked the plot to the royal guards, who foiled it before it could be carried out. Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators were all charged with treason and ever since the anniversary of the failed attempt is celebrated. This all happened three-hundred-and-eighty years ago today."

"Cool," Ryan said. "So, what's the giant pile of wood for?"

"It's for a bonfire once the sun goes down," Hadrian answered. "Part of the celebrations include burning an effigy of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire."

"Hmm, I can see why this particular holiday has never really caught on in the wizarding world," Micheil said. "There are still quite a few ill feelings over the witch trials, so most witches and wizards wouldn't want to celebrate anything that reminds them of that."

"Understandable," Hadrian said. "Sirius told me that if any of you felt uncomfortable about the imagery to remind you that none of the conspirators were magical. They were all muggles, so, think of the effigy of Guy as the person leading the witch trials being thrown on the fire instead."

Almost as if Hadrian mentioning his name had summoned him, Sirius came over at this point and sat down on the edge of the pool. He'd taken off his shoes and socks and rolled up his trouser legs so that he could dangle his feet in the water.

"Part of the reason for the plot was a religious one," Sirius added. "The conspirators were all Catholics who wanted a Catholic on the throne, instead of the Protestant King James VI and I. It was mostly those of the Catholic faith that was behind the Inquisition and witch burnings, as well, so it's really not that hard to imagine the effigy of Guy Fawkes as one of the leaders of the witch trials being thrown on the fire in the place of some innocent witch or wizard."

Finlay nodded, before he asked, "Why does this King James have two regnal numbers?"

"Because he reigned before the formation of the current United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland," Sirius answered. "Back then, the kingdoms were separate with different monarchs. So when Queen Elizabeth I of England died in 1603 without an heir, her closest relative, King James VI of Scotland, became King of England. Until that point there had never been a King James in England, so, he became King James VI and I, as he was the sixth James in Scotland and the first in England."

"It wasn't until the year 1707 that England and Scotland became Great Britain," Hadrian said. "After that, the dual regnal numbers were dropped from future monarchs, as they were reigning over a single kingdom instead of two separate kingdoms."

Nodding, Sirius added, "There is a minority of people who insist on keeping the dual numbers or using different ones. Such as a group in Scotland who refer to Queen Elizabeth II as Queen Elizabeth I, because they don't recognize Queen Elizabeth I of England as having ever been their monarch, so Queen Elizabeth II to them, is the first monarch named Elizabeth."

"Interesting," Ryan said. "So, I take it women can actually take the throne in their own right in the muggle world?"

"Yeah, the muggles use male-preference primogeniture," Hadrian replied. "So, all the sons go first in the succession, but if there are no sons, then daughters can inherit. Of course, it's only the crown that follows that as almost all of the noble titles are still male-only primogeniture, like they've always been here in the wizarding world."

"They also don't have the elective monarchy system that we have," Sirius added, "and there's never been a grand duke in the muggle peerage. At least not in Britain. There have been grand dukes in other countries. Russia before their monarchy was abolished in the 1910s is one example."

"Huh, interesting how things are so different between the muggle and magical worlds," Micheil said. "Considering that Imperial Russia still exists in the magical world."

Smiling, Sirius said, "Yes, there's a lot of differences between the two. Several kingdoms and empires that still exist in the magical world haven't existed for decades or even centuries in the muggle world. Imperial Russia, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and the Persian Empire, just to name a few."

Having finished her book and deciding to take a dip in the pool, as her father insisted, Hermione came over at this and having overheard what Sirius said, she asked, "Those empires still exist in the magical world?"

"Yup," Hadrian said. "The Roman Empire split into the Western and Eastern Empires just as they did in muggle history, with the Eastern Empire becoming known as the Byzantine Empire. Of course, the magical world's version of the Western Roman Empire, known simply as the Roman Empire, is nowhere near as large as it's muggle counterpart was."

"Italy is it's largest territory," Sirius said. "Although they also control the Mediterranean coasts of France, Spain, and North Africa south and west of Italy. Everything to the east of Italy, including Egypt, is ruled by the Byzantine Empire. So between the two of them, they control the entire Mediterranean and over half of the Black Sea."

"The two empires are both ruled by the Imperial House of Caesar, however," Finlay added. "So, whenever one branch is in danger of dying out, someone from the other branch of the family is named the heir, although they remain separate empires, because even with magic, ruling over both sections as a single empire would be a logistical nightmare simply because there's a much larger population now than centuries ago when it was a single empire."

"Before the split, however, the magical Roman Empire controlled a very extensive territory," Ryan said. "Including here in Albion, which is why we use the old Roman names for several of our cities, rivers, and other things, such as the City of Londinium and the River Temesis."

"In place of the City of London and the River Thames," Hadrian added.

-o-0-o-

After everyone had had their fill of swimming, they got out of the pool, dried off, dressed, and headed into the house where many of the wizarding-raised people who'd never visited Privet Drive before today got their first tastes of many things muggle. Including television, computers, and several of the battery-powered toys in Darius and Hadrian's playroom.

Ryan, Micheil, and Finlay were especially interested in the computer and began working out between them how they might lobby their parents to get a magically shielded computer for the palace… preferably at least two so that they'd both have one since Micheil and Finlay had no choice but to share. Carrick and the Thomas triplets were more interested in the television, while Tara and Zara took a liking to Darius and Hadrian's collection of Legos.

After a few hours in the playroom, they were all called downstairs for dinner, after which they headed back out to the backyard, as it was now dark enough that it was time to light the bonfire. A few of the wizarding raised children were still a bit leery about the whole thing, although those who'd chatted with Hadrian earlier found it a bit easier to deal with, as they did what had been suggested and imagined the Guy Fawkes effigy as the person responsible for the witch trials.

Not long after the effigy had disappeared in the flames, a lone firework exploded in the air over Number 3 Privet Drive, as the neighbor shot off their own fireworks. This led everyone to take seats in the lounge chairs that had been set up as Sirius and Remus began shooting off the fireworks they'd bought.

Of course, the wall and hedge were tall enough that they felt safe enough to light the fuses on the various fireworks with magic from a safe distance rather than having to light them and then run to safety before they went off.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the fireworks, even the wizarding raised, because while they weren't as animated as magical fireworks, it's hard not to enjoy the sights and sounds of a good firework show, which they also got in the form of the much larger display from Magnolia Park, which they watched with rapt attention.

When it was all over and it was time to go, Neville smiled at Hadrian and said, "I had fun tonight. Thanks for inviting me."

"No problem," Hadrian said with a smile, as he shook the Longbottom heir's hand. "I'm glad you had fun."

"It was definitely an experience I'll never forget," Micheil said, as he came up to Hadrian, as Neville moved over to shake hands with Darius.

"It was more fun than I thought it would be," Finlay said, as he grinned as Hadrian crossed his arms over the other so that he could take both Micheil and Finlay's hands and shake them both at the same time.

-o-0-o-

_**25 December 1987…**_

"Wake up! Wake up!" Hadrian cried out as he and Darius came running into Vernon and Petunia's bedroom, grabbed the footboard of their bed and began shaking it, as Darius cried out, "It's Christmas!"

Barking accompanied the boy's happy cries, as Chase danced around their feet and barked, and at one point stood up on his hind legs, his front paws against Petunia's side of the bed as he started barking.

"Okay, okay! We're up." Vernon said after a minute as he and Petunia sat up and the boys finally stopped shaking their bed.

No sooner had the two adults gotten out of bed, they found themselves being dragged over to the door, with barely enough time to even grab their bathrobes.

"Boys, stop dragging us, we're coming," Petunia said in a voice edged with just enough sternness to get them to stop, although she was smiling the entire time, as she thought back to her own childhood and the times that she and Lily had done exactly the same thing to their own parents on Christmas morning. From the smile on Vernon's face, she assumed he was thinking the same thing.

Just as they reached the bottom of the stairs, the basement door opened and Sirius's voice echoed through the house, as he said, "Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas, Sirius," Hadrian and Darius said with a smile, as Sirius and Remus turned the corner to reveal that they were both still dressed in their pajamas and robes. Ah, the joys of being able to Floo next door and avoid having to bundle up for the trek through the backyard.

"We brought treats," Remus said with a smile, as he held up a tray that had two large thermoses on it, along with a few covered plates of scones, teacakes, sweet rolls, and a bowl of fresh fruit. "I made the baked goods… I don't trust Sirius around an oven."

"Hahaha," Sirius said. "You're so funny. Not. Anyway, I cut up the fruit and we have tea for the adults and hot chocolate for the boys."

"Bless you," Vernon said. He had gone through many changes over the years. Physically the most obvious change was that he'd dropped nearly a hundred and fifty pounds and was doing a good job keeping it off. Beyond that, however, he was no longer distrusting or uncomfortable around magic and he'd become a far kinder person, both to this family, and those in other aspects of his life, including his job. One thing that hadn't changed, however, was his inability to function well until he'd had his morning tea.

Heading into the living room, Remus poured everyone a hot drink, as Sirius handed out a few treats. Of course, Hadrian and Darius had eyes only for the large number of presents sitting under the Christmas tree.

"Hadrian, Darius, the presents aren't going anywhere," Petunia said. "Drink your cocoa while it's still hot and have a bite to eat."

"Yes, Mum," Darius said, even as Hadrian said, "Yes, Aunt Petunia."

A few minutes later, after each of them had drunk their cocoa and eaten some of Remus's baked goods and the fruit, Vernon, now prepping his second cup of tea, smiled and said, "Okay, boys, it's present time."

"YAY!" Both boys practically screamed, along with Sirius, as Chase danced around yipping happily.

With a grin, Remus looked over at Petunia and said, "If only his grandparents saw him on a daily basis. They'd understand part of why I'm not in any rush to have children."

Petunia grinned back and asked, "Because you already have one in your husband?"

Nodding, Remus said, "Exactly. He's like a big kid most of the time."

"Funny, that's not what you were saying last night," Sirius whispered under his breath, knowing that even though he was sitting on the floor with Hadrian and Darius over five feet away that Remus—thanks to his enhanced werewolf senses—would have no trouble hearing him.

Remus did hear it and quickly turned red as he remembered the previous night. It was definitely true that the previous night had been one of those times that Sirius was definitely not acting like an overgrown child. Of course, Remus knew that his husband could be serious when he needed to be, it's just that he chose not to be whenever possible.

Nothing further was said as Sirius helped Hadrian and Darius start handing out presents, as each person in the room began to get a good-size pile of gifts. Even Chase got presents, although not quite as many as the humans in the room, as there were only so many things that would be a good gift for a dog.

Once all the gifts were handed out, Petunia smiled and said, "Okay, who's going to start?"

"Well, last year, we started with the oldest," Vernon said. "Which is me."

Nodding, Petunia said, "I suppose we should switch things up then and go with the youngest this time then."

Hadrian let out a whoop of joy and was about to grab a present from his pile, before Petunia asked, "And just what do you think you're doing, Hadrian?"

"Opening a present because I'm the youngest."

Remus shook his head and said, his tone amused, "Are you?"

"Yes!" Hadrian exclaimed.

"So two is greater than seven now?" Petunia asked. "Come now, Hadrian you're far too smart to make that mistake."

"Two?" Hadrian asked, confused before he got suddenly realized. "Really? You're going to have Chase open a gift before me?"

"He is the youngest member of the family," Sirius answered with a grin.

"Fine," Hadrian said, as he crawled over to Chase's pile of gifts and patted his lap, making the dog come over and sit in his lap. "Okay, Chase, let's open one of your gifts." Scanning the small pile, Hadrian said, "How about this one?"

Chase barked and wagged his tail as Hadrian picked up a package which he was pretty sure he knew what was hiding under the wrapping paper. He had a feeling that Chase suspected what it was too because he'd been sniffing at it ever since it had been placed in his pile and it was the same size as the box that his favorite bones came in.

Gently taking Chase's left paw in his hand, Hadrian dragged it across the wrapping paper, using the dog's claws to tear it and reveal just what Hadrian had suspected. Chase barked happily at seeing the familiar box and then proceeded to whine and give Hadrian the sad puppy face. This prompted Hadrian to shake his head, before he opened the box, took one of the bones out and gave it to the dog.

With Chase now happily chewing on his bone, Hadrian asked, "Now can I open one of mine?"

"You may," Petunia said. "Then Darius, then Remus, Sirius, me, and your Uncle Vernon."

Left unsaid was that they'd continue in that order until everyone had opened all of their presents.

As Hadrian reached for one of the boxes, Sirius shook his head and said, "No, not that one. Open the one with the red bow first."

"It's got clothes in it, doesn't it?" Hadrian accused. "You, Remus, Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and the grandparents always make sure that I open the gifts containing clothing first."

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about, young man," Remus said, with a shake of his head, as he lifted his teacup to his lips to hide his grin.

"Right," Darius said since they did the exact same thing to him. "I believe that. Not."

For once, it turned out that the gift that Sirius had picked did not, in fact, contain clothes. Instead, upon opening it, he found a pair of matching books. Opening the topmost one, he quickly realized that they were blank.

"Journals?" Hadrian asked.

"Yes, but these are very special journals," Remus answered.

"What's so special about them?" Darius asked.

"They're a charmed pair," Remus explained. "What you write in one will appear in the other and vice versa."

"Um… okay. Why?" Hadrian asked, not grasping why he'd want a journal that acted to strangely.

With a smile, Petunia said, "I put my head together with Remus and we came up with this because you're still a little too young for the responsibility of your own owl, Hadrian, and I'd also like Chase to get a little older and more settled, before we introduce any new animals to the house."

"And we're both getting tired of taking your letters to the owl post," Remus said. "You know which ones I mean, I believe."

Hadrian nodded as he understood now, as he'd really hit it off with Micheil and Finlay. They hadn't seen each other in person since they met over a month ago, but they'd begun exchanging letters almost daily. None of them were exactly sure why, but they just felt a connection with one another and a need to stay in contact, even if only through letters.

"So, now that you have those," Petunia said, "I'll take one more package to the owl post office for you, Hadrian. So that you can send Micheil and Finlay one of the journals. After that, you can just write in your copy and they'll be able to read what you write and respond to you by writing in their copy."

"Cool," Hadrian said.

Darius went next and found that he also had a pair of journals, even though he wasn't exchanging anywhere near as many letters with anyone as Hadrian was. Vernon said that they thought Darius might be jealous though if they gave Hadrian the charmed journals and didn't give him a set, even if he wasn't sure who to give the other one to yet.

Both boys weren't shocked when the second gifts they each opened were clothes. Interspersed with them, however, were a few toys and some new games for both the computer and their Nintendo NES.

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

Well, there you have it, Ch4 of 'The Seventh Olympian'. I'll be covering some more of 1987 in the next chapter, along with 1988 and possibly some of 1989.

Unlike most of my works, this chapter is not entirely beta-read, so any mistakes are entirely my fault. My longtime friend, beta, and sounding board, Nigel, has been dealing with a serious health issue as of late and without going into too much detail, has been losing his eyesight. There is a surgery that I guess may correct it, but he hasn't had it yet, so until then, I guess I'll just have to make do without him. Although, he has become an invaluable part of my writing process, as he's not only my beta, but also helps me to formulate ideas, flesh out the plots, and plan my works.

Anyway, I do have a poll regarding this story up on both my Yahoo Group and my FFNet profile. They're the same poll, so pick a place and vote, if you'd like. The poll gives a list of twenty-five characters from The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, and Teen Wolf and asks which of the listed characters you'd like to see have magic in this universe. You can ignore the 3-5 in the question though, as, in the days since posting the poll, I've decided instead to pick a total of six of the twenty-five characters. So, I'll pick the top two vote-getters from each fandom (unless there's a tie, at which point there might be an extra).

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my LiveJournal (JayColin), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at .


	5. Chapter 5, Part 1

The Seventh Olympian

Written By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relates to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, and Teen Wolf are the property of their respective creators, publishers, and production companies. I'm not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone's copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books or other media.

Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Background Het, Violence, Language, Canon Divergence, Crossover, Harem

-o-0-o-

Chapter Five, Part One

-o-0-o-

_**25 December 1987…**_

After presents, Vernon went upstairs as Sirius and Remus headed down to the basement to Floo back to their house. A blizzard had hit Southern England over the last few days, and it was as they were opening the last of the presents that they could hear some of the neighbors outside shoveling out. It wasn't long before the three of them were bundled up and joining the neighbors in the task.

About an hour later, Petunia had just finished wrapping one of the charmed journals for Hadrian, intending to take it to the owl post office tomorrow so that it could be sent to Micheil and Finlay, when she looked up as a rather regal looking eagle owl flew into the room through the charmed glass pane in the conservatory and dropped a golden gilt-edged envelope onto the table in front of her.

"What is it, Mum?" Darius asked as he and Hadrian had been sitting at the table having some Christmas cookies and milk as the owl flew in. They'd both seen some of the color draining from Petunia's face as she picked up the envelope and saw the seal pressed into the wax.

"It's from the King," Petunia said after a moment, as she looked at the seal of the Foremost Ancient and Royal House of Pendragon for a minute longer, before breaking the seal and pulling out the letter inside.

_**Dear Petunia Dursley,**_

_**You and your family are cordially invited to join His Majesty King Logan III and his family for the celebration of Christmas at Dragon's Court Palace on the afternoon and evening of 25 December. The dress code is informal smart casual. Please RSVP by owl no later than 21 December.**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Lord Demetrius Crouch III**_

_**The Duke of Amalveor and Steward of House Pendragon**_

"What's it say?" Hadrian asked after a few minutes of silence.

"It's an invitation," Petunia said. "Inviting us to join King Logan and his family at Dragon's Court Palace for Christmas."

"Cool!" Hadrian and Darius said in unison.

"I don't think we can go, however," Petunia said.

"Why not?!" Hadrian asked.

"The owl post was obviously backlogged by the blizzard," Petunia said. "We were supposed to RSVP on whether we'd be coming by no later than four days ago."

Not wanting to pass up the chance to see Dragon's Court Palace and the ability to give Micheil and Finlay the charmed journal in person, Hadrian asked, his tone hopeful, "Can't we try Floo-calling them? Surely they'd understand why we're late in responding. It's not our fault there was a blizzard and owl post was suspended."

"Well, I suppose I can try," Petunia said, as she got up from the table and headed towards the basement door. Hadrian and Darius following behind her. Lighting the fireplace, Petunia cast a pinch of Floo-Powder into the fireplace and called out, "Lord Demetrius Crouch, Edgeriver Hall, Duchy of Amalveor, Archduchy of Britannia," before kneeling down and placing her head in the flames.

A moment later, Petunia was looking out of the fireplace of what she assumed to be Lord Crouch's study. She could hear the bell ringing which she knew many wizarding residences had which signaled an incoming Floo-Call, so all she could do was wait for someone to come in and answer it. Hopefully, somebody was home, although being Christmas Day, it was probably more likely than if it wasn't a holiday.

It took a few minutes, but after a moment a tall and handsome young man, still in his late teens walked into the room and asked, "Yes?"

"Lord Crouch?"

"Yes, and you are?"

"Petunia Dursley. I was just calling about the invitation you sent me for Christmas at Dragon's Court Palace. The blizzard must have caused quite the backlog as I only just received it today."

Demetrius nodded, as he took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. "Yes, it did. There were several days there where it just wasn't safe for the owls to try and deliver mail. This being one of the busiest mail seasons there is, I'm not really surprised that there was a delay."

"Is it too late for my family to accept the gracious invitation of His Majesty?"

Shaking his head, Demetrius said, "No, of course not. You had no control over the weather and your nephew is part of His Majesty's extended family, so he very much wants you there."

Before Petunia could respond, the sound of two cheering voices could be heard, making Demetrius grin, as Petunia smiled and said, "My son and my nephew are behind me listening in."

"I figured," Demetrius said. "Well, thanks for contacting me and I'll contact the King and let him know that you and your family are coming." After a moment, he said, "Oh and His Majesty didn't mention this to me until after I'd already sent the invitation, but the invitation is for your entire family, including your husband and your dog, Chase, is it? Apparently, the dog was a hit with His Majesty's children and they'd all like to see him again."

"Okay then, I'll make sure to cast the appropriate spells so that Vernon and Chase can enter the magical world," Petunia said. "What time should we arrive?"

"Two in the afternoon," Demetrius answered. "Dinner will be served at six, with dessert at eight. The weather-wizards are suggesting that there might be another snowstorm here in the magical dimension later this evening, so you might want to pack overnight bags just in case you have to spend the night. His Majesty has ordered guest rooms prepared in case. Also, Dragon's Court Palace is warded to make it less of a strain for muggles to spend time in it, as there are occasions when the King has to meet with muggle dignitaries, so there should be no problem with your husband spending the night if it becomes necessary."

"Very well, thank you, Lord Crouch. Happy Christmas."

"To you as well, Ms. Dursley."

-o-0-o-

About half-an-hour after the Floo-Call ended, Vernon came back inside from shoveling off the pavement and the driveway. The task was made easier, despite the wet, heavy snow that had been dropped by the blizzard by the fact that Sirius had charmed the snow shovels that he, Remus, and Vernon were using making it easier to lift a shovel full of snow than it normally would be.

"Ah, good, Vernon, I was just about to come out and get you," Petunia said. "Change of plans… we're not staying in for the holiday."

Petunia was thankful that the invitation had come before she'd really started to cook Christmas dinner in earnest. She'd already bought everything she'd need and had cooked a few things ahead of time, but most of the dinner she'd planned still needed to be made. While she would never turn down an invitation to the palace, she would have been perturbed if it had come after she'd started cooking.

Vernon looked momentarily confused before he nodded. "Okay. I wouldn't suggest driving very far, as the roads are quite treacherous and the council is certainly not going to get them cleared today of all days."

"That won't be an issue," Petunia said. "We will be driving, or more accurately riding, but the snow won't matter for the conveyance that we'll be taking." Vernon raised his eyebrow, prompting Petunia to add, "The Knight Bus can handle the snow."

"The Knight Bus?" Vernon asked. "Isn't that the queer triple-decker purple bus you mentioned? The one that witches and wizards use for emergency transport?"

There were some magical people who might have an issue with Vernon's word choice regarding the Knight Bus, but Petunia did not. Living in the muggle world, she understood that the very idea of a triple-decker bus was strange to muggles. A double-decker, yes, but a triple-decker bus with armchairs or beds instead of seats depending on time of day and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling? Not to mention the fact that it traveled all over the UK, Ireland, Albion, and Iwernia in alphabetical order. Queer was definitely an apt description as far as muggles were concerned.

"Yes, that's the one," Petunia confirmed. "Not my preferred method of travel, but it is the only means of magical transport that will work for you and Chase."

"Okay," Vernon said. "And where are we going?"

"Dragon's Court Palace," Petunia answered, enjoying the widening of Vernon's eyes. "The blizzard delayed the owl post so the invitation was late, but since Hadrian is His Majesty King-Consort Cliffton's second cousin, we've all been invited to spend the day with the royal family."

Vernon whistled. "That's quite an atypical way to spend Christmas Day, even for the nobility."

"Yes, I suppose it is. However, I trust you'll agree that when one gets an invitation to the palace, one simply doesn't say no."

"Of course, one would have to be a fool to do so."

After a moment's pause, Petunia said, "Anyway, it's informal smart casual, so your tan trousers—the ones I got you for your last birthday—should work, along with your brown shoes and a polo shirt. I've been warned that the weather-wizards are saying that another blizzard might hit in the magical dimension later this evening, so we may have to spend the night at the palace. So, you'll need to pack an overnight bag. Hadrian and Darius are already upstairs doing just that."

Vernon nodded, before he asked, "Wait, spend the night at the palace? Is that safe? For me, I mean, as a muggle?"

"Perfectly safe," Petunia answered. "It would only affect your health if you were staying for a week or more. Plus, the palace apparently has wards to lessen the effect of ambient magic on muggles due to the King occasionally having to meet with and entertain muggle dignitaries."

"Ah. Well, if you're sure."

Leaning over and kissing her husband, Petunia said, "Of course, I'm sure, honey. Do you honestly think I'd let you go if I thought it would be hazardous to your health? I do happen to love you and you are my soulmate, so I'm not about to risk your health unnecessarily."

-o-0-o-

At about five minutes to two in the afternoon, the otherwise peaceful quiet was broken when there was a loud bang as the Knight Bus appeared out of thin air and came to a stop in the gravel driveway in front of Dragon's Court Palace. Within seconds of its arrival, the massive oaken doors of the palace opened and Cliffton Pendragon came outside to investigate the noise, accompanied by Micheil and Finlay.

As Petunia Dursley stepped off the bus, all three of the royals smiled and walked down the front steps to greet them.

"Happy Christmas," Cliffton said when he was in range. "I was quite happy when Demetrius contacted us to let you know you were coming."

"We're honored by the invitation, Your Majesty," Petunia said, as Vernon stepped off the bus. "This is my husband, Vernon Dursley. Vernon, this is His Majesty King-Consort Cliffton Pendragon, and you've already met his sons, Princes Micheil and Finlay."

Vernon nodded as he shook hands with Cliffton, as he definitely remembered Micheil and Finlay coming to the house for the Guy Fawkes celebration last month. Since he hadn't attended Hadrian's Ritual of Confirmation or the Halloween party at the Hopkins house, Guy Fawkes Day was the first time he'd met a pair of conjoined twins. It was definitely something which stood out in his mind. Especially considering that he met two sets of them within minutes of each other since he'd met Neall and Niall, followed by Micheil and Finlay not long afterward.

He had asked Petunia privately later that night after everyone had gone home why Neall and Niall MacDougal had never been separated. He understood perfectly well why Micheil and Finlay hadn't been, since sharing everything from their necks down made it impossible. But he hadn't really understood why Neall and Niall, who were joined side-by-side with two arms and four legs between them hadn't been.

Once Petunia told him that wizarding conjoined twins were never separated, even if the operation would be possible in the muggle world, due to an overwhelming chance of losing their magic, he understood it. There was a time when he would have thought a witch or wizard losing their magic would be a good thing, back when he'd believed it to be freakish and didn't think that they should exist at all. He'd evolved since then, however, and could understand why somebody who had magic wouldn't want to lose it.

After a moment, he let go of Cliffton's hand and took both Micheil and Finlay's hands, since they held out both of them to him, and shook, as he said, "It's good to you see you both again."

"You too, Mr. Dursley," Micheil said.

"Please just call me Vernon," he said, as he couldn't help but think about how strange the difference in protocol was between the muggle and wizarding worlds. In the muggle world, he wouldn't have been allowed to speak until prompted to by the princes. But in the wizarding world, as the uncle, even by marriage, of the confirmed Heir Potter and future Grand Duke of Cambria, who outranked Micheil and Finlay, no such protocol existed.

Speaking of Hadrian, it was at this point that he got off the bus with Darius, carrying a pet carrier in one hand as they'd had to put Chance in his carrier for the ride on the bus.

Having dropped off all of its passengers for this stop, the Knight Bus disappeared as Hadrian and Darius greeted Cliffton and the twins. With that out of the way, Cliffton said, "Well, why don't we head inside then? Ancient stone castle or not, it's much warmer inside then it is out here."

"How old is this castle anyway?" Vernon asked.

"This section is part of the two new wings that were added not long after it was moved here on the centennial of the death of King Arthur," Cliffton answered as they walked up the steps to the front doors. "So 1,331 years. The rest of the castle is even older, dating back roughly another two-thousand years."

Vernon whistled as he said, "Wow that makes Windsor Castle and Westminster Abbey seem new by comparison."

"Yes, it does indeed," Finlay agreed. He'd never visited either location, as he and Micheil didn't venture out into the muggle world very often simply because they didn't like being stared at. In the wizarding world, with the exception of the occasional muggleborn, nobody paid their closeness any mind. But in the muggle world, they knew that almost everyone they met would be staring at them, so as much as they wanted to see some of the landmarks—they both greatly enjoyed architecture in all its forms—they decided to be content with just looking at pictures.

Once they were inside, Petunia and Vernon followed Cliffton to the drawing room where the other adults were gathered, while Hadrian and Darius followed Micheil and Finlay to the solarium where the rest of their siblings, as well as their MacDougal and Thomas cousins, had gathered. Arriving in the room, Chase was let out of his carrier and he quickly began exploring his new surroundings and sniffing a few of the people he hadn't met previously.

"So, I forgot to ask on Guy Fawkes Day," Darius said after they were all seated. "How did you go about getting revenge on Jazz and Jess, Declan?"

Declan grinned. Jasper and Jesse weren't present, as they were spending the day at Lakeview Castle with their own family. "Hit them both with two Stinging Hexes to their arses, followed by the Rainbow Arse Charm."

"Rainbow Arse Charm?" Hadrian asked.

Ryan grinned. "It's a charm which covers your arse in red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and purple stripes. It lasts for about twenty-four hours and can't be dispelled."

After the laughter died down, Declan added, "I may have also recruited Neville to put a few dung bombs in their beds and their underwear drawers. I figured, given the reason why I was seeking revenge on them, it was fitting."

"Oh yes, definitely," Carrick agreed. "I'm sure you've learned your lesson though, Deck. If someone comes to you and asks you to be the rear end of their centaur costume…"

"Refuse," Declan said. "Well, unless they make it worth my while. Say, fifty galleons an hour, guaranteed minimum of eight hours paid upfront before I even get into the costume."

"How did you ever get through that night?" Hadrian asked. "You must have been in that costume for a few hours."

"Three," Declan said. "And luckily for me, I managed to cast the Bubblehead Charm, or else I probably would have passed out from the fumes… and then ended up with Jazz and Jess on top of me after I fainted."

"That's pretty impressive," Neall said. "That you managed to cast that charm at your age."

Niall nodded. "Yes and wandless at that since you're not old enough to have gotten a training wand yet."

"What can I say?" Declan said, puffing out his chest a bit. "I'm just that good."

Declan's little sister, Adara, rolled her eyes and said, "Or it could be because your wizarding heritage test showed that you're naturally gifted with wandless magic."

"Heritage test?" Darius asked.

"It's a test that the goblins can do at Gringotts," Micheil explained. "It shows the person taking the test a list of any and all magical abilities that they've inherited, such as whether they're a metamorphmagus or naturally gifted with wandless magic, among other things. It also shows a list of any school subjects that you might be a prodigy in."

"Cool," Hadrian said, as he looked at Darius and said, "We should definitely get that test done."

Darius nodded, as Finlay smiled and said, "You have to be at least eight years old. And be able to pay the two hundred and fifty galleon fee."

"Well, wild guess here, but I somehow doubt the fee will be a problem for Hadrian," Carrick said.

"That's pretty much a given," Morag said. "The only other thing to keep in mind is that some of the abilities that could show up on your heritage test won't activate until your magical inheritance at fifteen."

Hadrian nodded. "Like Grandfather Arcturus's mage-sight."

Micheil nodded. "Yes, that is one example. An exceptionally rare example."

"Mage-sight is an ability that only manifests a handful of times per generation," Finlay added. "It's a useful ability, especially for wandmakers, although it's certainly helpful in other situations, as well."

"Dueling would be another example," Ryan said. "Definitely useful if you can actually see your opponent's aura during a duel. It allows you to ascertain how much reserves they still have and how much power they might be able to put into the spells they throw your way."

Declan nodded. "I've heard that people with mage-sight also have a few seconds advance notice of the spell that their opponent starts to cast, even if they're doing it non-verbally, as they'll be able to see the spell a few seconds before it would otherwise become visible to the naked eye, as the power for it is drawn from the caster's core."

"Is there a way to hide one's aura?" Darius asked.

"Yes," Micheil said. "Although it has a side effect of dampening your magical ability, as you're turning your magic inward to hide your aura, which means you have less reserves to cast spells with."

"Most people don't do it for that very reason," Finlay added. "Although it ultimately depends on your power level. The more powerful you are, the larger your reserves, and thus the less hiding your aura would affect you."

"It's still tiring to do so, however," Ryan cautioned. "As doing it is like casting a spell that draws a fraction of the power from your core to keep it active, which could lead to magical exhaustion and even death if you're not careful."

-o-0-o-

_**27 January 1988…**_

Just over a month after spending Christmas Day at Dragon's Court Palace, Hadrian was sitting in the conservatory of Number Four Privet Drive watching the latest snowfall. Everyone had enjoyed their day at the palace. While the adults enjoyed conversation and a few hands of poker over glasses of Firewhisky, the kids, after their conversation in the solarium, scattered about the palace to play hide and seek.

Dinner was a much fancier and more decadent affair than anything Petunia might have made at Privet Drive. The most obvious difference was that Petunia would have cooked all the dishes she intended to serve at the same time and they'd all have been on the table for everyone to serve themselves from as they wished. This was, of course, because she actually wanted to enjoy the meal with her family, rather than being stuck in the kitchen cooking while the others ate.

At the palace, however, they had house-elves doing the cooking which allowed it to be served course by course. One thing that did take some getting used to for everyone, as it was still one thing that was the same in the wizarding world as it was in the muggle world, was that each course was cleared the moment the King finished, regardless of whether or not everyone else had finished that course.

Thankfully, however, Logan was a somewhat slow eater, as he enjoyed conversing with those closest to him at the table. This included Hadrian, who as the Lord-Apparent of House Potter found himself chatting quite extensively not only with Logan and Cliffton, but also Grand Dukes Aindreas MacDougal and Langston Thomas, their respective wives, the King's brother Laine and his wife, and Cliffton and Langston's mother, Dowager Grand Duchess Henrika.

Most kids Hadrian's age would no doubt feel quite out of their depth when talking to the elder lords and ladies and the King, but Hadrian had really thrown himself into his politics and economics studies with his Grandfather Arcturus, Papa Pollux, and Steward Nicolas. He was, after all, seven years old, which meant that in about three and a half years he would be undergoing his Ritual of Claiming and become the official Grand Duke of Cambria.

While it was true that Nicolas would continue to handle most of the Grand Duchy's affairs, with help from Chancellor Ignatius Prewett, Constable Malcolm Flint, Barrister Arthur Weasley, and Solicitor Padraig Fontaine until Hadrian finished his education, he still felt it was important for him to understand the inner workings of his future role and everything that went with it.

The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint his ancestors by screwing something up that had run smoothly and well for several thousand years because he didn't understand something. He shared that concern with Sirius and Petunia once, but they both assured him that they had complete faith in him.

Balancing the charmed journal in his lap, the twin of which he'd given to Micheil and Finlay privately after dinner on Christmas Day, Hadrian tapped his chin with his ballpoint for a moment, before he began writing.

_**So, I had another politics and economics lesson today… it was interesting, to say the least.**_

_**What was the topic? – M**_

_**Well, I knew that your dad and the GDs collect tax revenue, but I was curious where the other nobles get their money from, so I asked.**_

_**I'm sure that had some interesting reactions, especially from Kevin, Piers, and Hermione. – F**_

Originally, only Hadrian had been included in the lessons with Arcturus, Pollux, and Nicolas, but eventually, Darius joined in and that soon expanded to include all of their local friends who they hung out with the most, consisting of Wayne, Kevin, Piers, and Hermione.

While only Hadrian was high nobility, the three elder men saw no reason why the others couldn't join in on the class, especially since there were topics that often came up in the classes which might actually be useful for the others to know, but would be difficult for them to learn. This was because some of the topics were considered to be at a level of common knowledge that was so common that nobody bothered to write it down. So, Kevin, Piers, and Hermione, especially, as muggleborns, would have found it especially hard to learn about some of the topics.

_**Oh yeah, that's probably the understatement of the century.**_

Hadrian settled in, as he began recounting what had happened in the class.

-o-0-o-

"So, I know that the Grand Dukes and the King collect tax revenue," Hadrian said, as Arcturus nodded. "But where do the other nobles get their money from?"

"Rents and leases," Pollux said, who as the Chancellor for House Black was the one who dealt most often with financial matters. Arcturus and Nicolas both dealt with them as well, but to a lesser extent.

"As we covered in our last lesson," Nicolas said, "each Grand Duchy is made up of two Duchies, two Marquessates, two Earldoms, two Viscounties, and two Baronies. One of the two Duchies is held by the Grand Duke as their subsidiary title, while the rest are held by their five vassal lords with the Viscounts, Earls, Marquesses, and Dukes each holding two. For example, I'm the Duke of Pleinmont and the Marquess of Braye."

"The Barons only hold their Barony, as they have no subsidiary title," Arcturus added. "The only person in the kingdom who holds more than one subsidiary title is King Logan, as King of Albion and Iwernia is his primary title, while Archduke of Britannia and Duke of Penderleath are his subsidiary titles."

"So do the Grand Dukes pay taxes?" Kevin asked.

"Yes, they do," Nicolas answered. "While the Grand Dukes do collect taxes from their Grand Duchies, they also pay taxes to the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia. However, that money goes into the kingdom's coffers, which are completely separate from King Logan's personal coffers, which is where the tax income from the Archduchy and the rents and leases from the Duchy go."

"So where do these rents and leases actually come from?" Piers asked.

"The nobility owns all of the land and all of the buildings on said land, throughout the entirety of the kingdom," Arcturus said. "So the commoners pay to rent or lease their homes and the land they sit upon from the nobility. It's the same for all of the storekeepers and other business owners throughout the kingdom, who rent or lease the buildings and warehouses that their businesses operate from."

"You mean that nobody who isn't nobility is a property owner?" Kevin asked.

"At least in terms of real estate, yes," Nicolas confirmed. "You'd be hard-pressed to find people who don't own any other forms of property, however. Whether that be clothing, furniture, or other miscellany belongings."

"That seems rather backward," Hermione said. "Feudalism fell out of fashion in the muggle world centuries ago and serfdom hasn't been seen since the early 1910s in Russia, before the Revolution which accompanied World War I."

"As I've told you before, Hermione," Arcturus said, "you would do well to remember that the magical world and the muggle world are two different places and you will not make many friends if you are constantly trying to impose your muggle views upon the magical world."

"Indeed, that's why many of the purebloods hate muggleborns so much," Pollux said. "As they have a tendency to come into our world and try to tell us that we need to modernize and abandon all of our long-held traditions, in favor of doing things in a more civilized way, the way that the muggles do. An argument which, for obvious reasons, does not sit well with witches and wizards."

"I would argue that in truth, the magical world is far more civilized than the muggle world," Nicolas said. "I'm not saying that we don't have our problems, as we certainly do. But barring occasional reigns of terror from various Dark Lords, we don't fight wars. In fact, it's been over seven centuries now since the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia has been at war with another country. How many muggle countries can say that?"

Hermione sighed. "I can't think of any."

"Anyway, while it's true that we do practice what might be termed as feudalism," Pollux said, "we do not practice serfdom. Serfdom suggests a form of debt bondage or indentured servitude. And like slaves, serfs can be bought and sold, usually along with the land that they work. That is not the case here, however, as the buying and selling of human beings has been illegal throughout the magical world for hundreds of years now."

"While it's certainly true that we do have a rather rigid class system," Arcturus said, "you won't find masses of homeless or starving people here in Albion and Iwernia. Most people who aren't shopkeepers, scholars, or other paid professions operate farms of various sizes, which provide all the food they need for themselves and their families, usually with enough left over that they can earn an income."

"Like the muggle United Kingdom, Albion and Iwernia also has free healthcare for everybody," Nicolas added. "And while education does cost money, there are assistance funds set aside by the Grand Dukes to assist those who can't afford Athena, Hecate, Hogwarts, tutors, or one of the many trade schools that exist."

"How old are those assistance funds?" Darius asked. "Because I remember when Remus and Sirius were telling Hadrian and me about the Emrys family they seemed to imply that it was a miracle that they even managed to send the Merlin who was in Slytherin to Hogwarts."

"The assistance funds did exist at that time," Pollux said, "however not everyone qualifies for them. The Emrys family being one that didn't qualify for any assistance due to the writ of attainder against the family. You have to be a citizen in good standing in order to apply for and get financial assistance and being a member of a house of attainted traitors who frequently joined rebellions and other attempts to overthrow the government does not leave one in good standing."

-o-0-o-

It took a few minutes after Hadrian finished writing, but then the twins responded.

_**Well, that wasn't as bad as I was expecting, to be honest. – F**_

_**Yes, it could have been worse. At least Hermione didn't accuse witches and wizards of being ungodly heathens or barbarians, as some muggleborns have in the past. – M**_

_**Well, she did have a few choice words about polytheism after reading about it in a book, but Sirius and Remus set her straight. Honestly, I think she is learning. She's not as confrontational as she used to be. Still has her moments, but they're becoming fewer and farther between as time goes on.**_

_**That's good. There's nothing wrong with having opinions or even with challenging the way things are done. But you'll get better results if you aren't insulting while doing so. – F**_

_**Yes, most people don't react well to insults, so if you want to change something, it's best not to raise people's hackles by insulting them as then they'll be angry and more likely to tune you out, rather than listen to your arguments. – M**_

_**True. So what's going on with you two?**_

_**Not much at the moment, although that won't be the case this time next week. – M**_

_**What's happening next week?**_

_**A state dinner and ball for the Roman Emperor. Thankfully, there's not much Mic and I need to do in preparation other than put on our best and show up on the day of. – F**_

_**Well, and try not to offend any of the diplomats or the imperial family. International incidents are best avoided. – M**_

_**Am I going to have to attend this sort of thing in the future?**_

_**No, you won't. For the Grand Dukes attending such events is entirely optional. That's why they elect the King, so he can deal with international affairs and leave them to handle domestic affairs. – M**_

_**Yes, the only reason that Mic and I and our siblings have to attend is that we're the King's children. Even though none of us are likely to ever sit on the throne ourselves since it's highly unlikely that the GDs will elect another MacDougal again in our lifetime after our father's reign ends. They tend to rotate between the families, making sure that each one has a turn. – F**_

_**Well, good luck then. When do you think we'll see each other again in person?**_

_**Thanks, Hadrian. As for seeing each other in person, I'm not sure. – F**_

_**After the state dinner next week, we'll be staying in the palace in Iwernia for about a week, before going off to the continent for several weeks. We've got state dinners scheduled in France, Spain, Austria, Byzantium, and Persia. – M**_

_**Looking forward to starting Hogwarts in September, as that'll give us an excuse not to attend all of the state functions for nine months out of the year. – F**_

_**Are there many state functions then?**_

_**Yeah, there's several. How do you think Albion and Iwernia has avoided war with other countries for over seven centuries? – F**_

_**The various heads of state have frequent balls, dinners, and state visits to keep dialogues open and lessen tensions between them. Honestly, it's rare for us to go a month without either having a foreign head of state coming here or us going somewhere else. – M**_

_**Plus, there's also domestic state functions. Of course, we don't usually have to attend those. Like when Dad does the State Opening of the Wizengamot, we're not expected to attend. – F**_

_**I'm guessing that's a relief.**_

_**Definitely. – F**_

_**Yes, most state functions are, quite frankly, mind-numbingly boring. – M**_

_**We'd much rather be playing Quidditch than attending balls and listening to speeches. – F**_

_**I can't say that I blame you. Haven't had the chance to play myself, but it does look fun. Do you play frequently?**_

_**Not as often as we'd like, but we do get the chance sometimes. – M**_

_**It's definitely one advantage of having five younger siblings. We have almost a full team. With seven of us, we would have a full team, but for obvious reasons, Mic and I can't play more than one position at a time. – F**_

_**Which position do you play?**_

_**Keeper, mostly. Although we do swap and play the other positions as well. Seeker is fun, although many would say that we have an unfair advantage over other Seekers since we've got two pairs of eyes looking for the Snitch. – M**_

"Hadrian? Dinner is ready," Petunia's voice called out from the kitchen.

_**Gotta go, just got called to dinner.**_

_**Okay, enjoy. – M**_

_**Goodbye for now. – F**_

-o-0-o-

_**28 March 1988…**_

At around noon, Sirius and Remus were walking down Privet Drive with Darius and Hadrian headed for Magnolia Park. The weather had begun turning relatively nice and they decided to get out of the house. Vernon was at work and Petunia had a dentist's appointment and a few errands to run in London, so Sirius and Remus agreed to watch the boys, deciding to go have a picnic at the park.

"Hello Arabella," Sirius said with a smile, as the four of them arrived at the park to find Arabella sitting at one of the picnic tables, her back to the table as she watched Piers on the swing set. Piers' mother had picked up a few extra shifts, so Arabella agreed to watch him since Petunia was busy.

"Care to join us for lunch?" Remus asked as he held up the picnic basket he brought. "I've got plenty."

"I suppose I can stay for a few more minutes," Arabella said as she looked at her watch. "Two of my cats are due to have their litters today, but they're both half-Kneazle, so they really don't need my help with that."

Nodding, Remus said, "Yes, Kneazles are very intelligent and independent, so they'd probably just see you as being in the way if you decided to hover."

"Precisely," Arabella agreed, as Piers got off the swing and came over to greet Darius and Hadrian as Remus began setting up their picnic.

It was just as everyone was taking their seats at the picnic table that Robert Granger showed up along with Hermione, Kevin, and Wayne. His wife was manning their practice for the day, so he was home with Hermione and had picked up the boys on the way to the park to meet the others.

Robert was also carrying a picnic basket of his own—which both Victoria Hopkins and Lauren Entwhistle had added to when Robert picked up their sons—so, between it and the one Remus had brought, the group had plenty of food.

As they enjoyed their lunch, Darius noticed that Wayne was looking a bit down, so he asked, "Wayne? Is something wrong?"

"You do look rather sad, mate," Piers said, as he looked at his friend.

"Well, Carl is home for spring break," Wayne said. "Almost as soon as he got home, he decided to drop a bomb on me and our parents."

"What is it?" Hadrian asked.

"He's moving out," Wayne answered. "Apparently, he's been in touch with a real estate agent and he's found a flat on Diagon Alley. He's home right now packing the stuff he didn't take with him to Hogwarts because when he finishes school in July, he's not coming back home. At least, not to stay. He'll be living in his new flat."

"With my sister," Kevin added. "They're engaged."

"And she's pregnant," Wayne added.

Sirius couldn't help but look at Hadrian at this, as he knew that Carl was his first crush. Hadrian seemed to be doing okay, but Sirius knew his godson well enough to know that he wasn't all that happy about the idea of Carl getting married or becoming a father.

Not that Hadrian had ever stood much of a chance with the older boy. They were ten years apart and honestly, if he'd ever shown an interest in Hadrian, Sirius would have hexed him nine ways to Sunday. Luckily for Carl's bits, however, the elder Hopkins son only had eyes for Annabelle Entwhistle, who it would seem would soon be Annabelle Hopkins.

"Gonna miss your brother, huh?" Darius asked.

Wayne nodded. "Yeah, he's always been my hero. According to Mum and Dad, Carl was my first word, even before Mama and Dada. So, I don't really want him to go, but unfortunately, I don't get a vote."

"Well, look on the bright side, Wayne," Kevin said. "At least you're getting his room."

"Yeah, there is that," Wayne agreed, as once the shock had worn off and the congratulations were handled, Keith and Victoria Hopkins had put their heads together and decided that Wayne could have Carl's room once he moved out. It was larger than Wayne's current bedroom, which would be turned into Victoria's sewing room, allowing her to move her sewing machine and other related supplies out of the guest room.

"So when's the wedding?" Hermione asked.

"In two days," Kevin answered. "Annabelle and Carl decided that they don't want a big wedding, so they're going to go to London and have a small civil ceremony."

"Mainly because they don't really have time to plan a big, fancy wedding," Wayne added. "Since Annabelle is already almost five months pregnant, so by the first week of July when Hogwarts lets out, her due date will be practically around the corner."

"Wow, that'll certainly make revising for her NEWTs much harder," Hermione said, to the surprise of nobody.

"Let alone actually taking them," Kevin added before he sighed. "I'm happy for her and I guess I'm looking forward to being an uncle, but… well, even though Anna is ten years older than me, I guess I never expected that she'd make me one before I'd even started Hogwarts."

Robert grinned. "Yes, that is a bit of an unusual role for a seven-year-old."

"I'll be eight before the baby is born," Kevin said. "My birthday is in May."

"I stand corrected," Robert said.

-o-0-o-

Later that day, Vernon, Petunia, Hadrian, and Darius were gathered around the dining room table at Number Five along with Sirius and Remus, having just finished dinner.

Standing up, Remus said, "Well, I suppose I'll get the leftovers put away and the dishes loaded into the dishwasher."

"Do you need any help?" Petunia asked and Remus nodded. Normally, he would have politely declined the offer, not really needing the help, but today, he decided to accept. Mainly because it would give him the chance to talk to Petunia about something while the others moved into the living room to watch TV.

Sirius gave Remus a discreet nod masked by leaning in for a quick kiss as they'd talked before the others had arrived for dinner. So, he already knew what Remus was going to talk to Petunia about.

About twenty minutes later, Remus and Petunia had finished up in the kitchen and came into the living room just as Disney's The Fox and the Hound was going into a commercial break on the television set.

Clearing her throat as she sat down, Petunia said, "Boys, I have something to tell you."

"Not more bad news?" Hadrian asked, before silently cursing himself for referring to Carl's impending nuptials and fatherhood as bad news. It was fine to think it in his head, but saying it aloud was probably not really appropriate, as most people didn't consider somebody getting married and having a baby to be bad news.

"No, no, it's not bad, I promise," Petunia said with a smile, as Sirius had filled her in on what had happened earlier at the park shortly after she'd arrived. "We were going to wait until a little closer to your birthdays to tell you, but I suppose now is as good a time as any."

Seeing that she had everyone's attention, Petunia added, "One of my errands in London today was to visit a travel agent to book a vacation trip for August."

"Mallorca again?" Darius asked, since the Dursleys plus Hadrian had vacationed in Mallorca the last two summers in a row.

Shaking her head, Petunia said, "No, Vernon and I decided that it was time for something a bit more exotic."

Vernon grinned. "If you want to call Florida exotic."

"Florida?" Hadrian asked, as both he and Darius instantly perked up.

Petunia smiled. "I booked a two-week holiday at Disney World."

Both Darius and Hadrian were on their feet doing a happy dance within moments of hearing this news, as they'd both wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom for a few years now, but they never expected that Vernon and Petunia would actually take them. It was a long trip, after all, and the elder Dursleys seemed to prefer going to Mallorca since they'd honeymooned there.

With a grin, Sirius added, "Remus and I are joining you this year."

It had been something of a challenge to get the Ministry to agree to issue Remus a passport, as they weren't all that keen about allowing a werewolf to travel outside of the country… at least, not on a vacation. If he'd been seeking to get a passport because he was going to leave and never come back—thus becoming somebody else's problem—it probably would have been easier.

In the end, Arcturus enlisted the help of the Dowager Lady Longbottom to help apply just the right amount of pressure to get the Ministry bureaucrats to agree. Even the most uptight and prejudiced of the bureaucrats weren't fool enough to say no not only to the Lord Black, but also the Dowager Grand Duchess of North Anglia.

"COOL!" Darius and Hadrian exclaimed in unison, as they renewed their happy dance, completely ignoring the movie they'd been watching which had now come out of the break.

-o-0-o-

_**2 August 1988…**_

At 11:15 AM, Petunia, Vernon, Hadrian, Darius, Sirius, and Remus were all buckled up in their seats as their British Airways flight to Orlando was taxied to the runway at Gatwick Airport for takeoff. Sirius brewed a batch of Stomach Soothers and Anti-Nausea Potions for all but Vernon to drink prior to the flight, as both Hadrian and Darius had gotten airsick on their first trip to Mallorca in 1986. So, better to be safe than sorry, especially since this was the first time any of them would be crossing the Atlantic.

Once they were in the air, Hadrian put down the partition between his seat and Petunia's and asked, "So, this is a nine-hour flight, but we're arriving in Orlando only four hours after we left?"

Petunia smiled. "Yes, I know it's a little confusing but that's because Orlando is five hours behind London. So when it's six o'clock at night in London, it's only one in the afternoon in Orlando."

"Weird," Hadrian said, although he fell silent at this point as he got out his Walkman and put his headphones on, before taking out a box of colored pencils and a sketchpad. A part of Hadrian would have preferred to be reading, but then he preferred magical texts which he couldn't read on a muggle airplane.

Besides that, his reading level was more advanced than most kids his age, so it was agreed that sketching was safer than reading a book that most people wouldn't think anyone would read until the later years of secondary school.

Smiling as she saw that Hadrian was set, for the time being, Petunia pulled a novel out of her bag and started reading.

Several hours later, after the captain announced they would soon be making their final approach into Orlando International, Hadrian packed up his sketch pad and pencils and put away his Walkman. He hadn't spent the entire flight sketching, as he'd also taken a nap at Petunia's suggestion and watched a movie.

Not to mention the several course restaurant-quality meal that was served. Vernon, Petunia, Sirius, and Remus all had some drinks, but as Vernon would be driving, he'd limited his alcoholic intake and stopped drinking halfway across the Atlantic.

Hadrian's and Sirius's status as nobility did grant them several perks, however, as while their titles were in the peerage of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia, an agreement centuries ago had led to their titles also being recognized as part of the United Kingdom's peerage. Although, only the titles Baron through Duke were recognized, so even after Hadrian turned eleven and became Grand Duke of Cambria, he'd still be only the Duke of Granston, as far as the muggle world was concerned. Sirius, of course, was traveling under his courtesy title of Marquess of Alnwick.

The other concession made in the agreement between the two governments was that the Grand Duke's status as royalty was not recognized, simply because it would have been too confusing to explain what they were royalty of, unless they were passed off as members of the British royal family which, was next to impossible.

As they deplaned, the crew got an opportunity to practice their protocol, making sure that Hadrian was situated before anyone else in his traveling party or the other people who had booked the remaining first-class seats, as, among them, Hadrian was the only Duke on the flight. Sirius as a Marquess was a close second in terms of protocol, with everyone else on the plane, as commoners were dealt with after them… meaning that everyone who wasn't a part of Hadrian's and Sirius's group was the last of the first-class passengers off the plane.

A limousine was waiting for the group to shuttle them to the VIP terminal, where they collected their luggage and then proceeded to go through customs… which for all but Vernon would be a longer process, as they had to go through both muggle and magical customs. Still, being in the VIP terminal did help expedite things a bit, as there weren't as many people.

After Vernon finished up in customs, he took care of renting a car in order to get them to their hotel, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, which had only opened a month ago. Meanwhile, Hadrian and the others passed through a magically hidden door into the magical section of the VIP terminal in order to go through magical customs.

"Welcome to the United States, Your Royal Highness," the woman behind the desk said, after looking at Hadrian's passport, which gave his full title as His Royal Highness Electoral Prince Hadrian of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia, Confirmed Heir and Lord-Apparent of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, and the Duke of Granston.

"Thank you," Hadrian said, as he got squared away, followed by Sirius, and then Remus, since in the wizarding world, he was legally married to Sirius, making him the recognized Marquess-Consort of Alnwick. That was one other concession that had been made in the agreement between the two governments in that, since it wasn't legal in the muggle world, that Remus was considered to be an unrelated commoner, instead of Sirius's husband.

"I apologize, sir, but I will need you to sign a few extra documents and submit to a few extra security measures, beyond checking your luggage and wand," the woman at the desk said, as she noted Remus's werewolf status on his passport.

Sirius's first instinct was to be upset by that, but a calming hand on the shoulder from Remus had him deflating. Remus was used to it and he expected it, as he could understand MACUSA's caution when a potentially dangerous magical creature like himself was coming through customs.

"That's not a problem," Remus said, as he handed the customs witch his wand for testing, before signing a few extra documents. All of it was pretty routine, honestly, as he knew he'd had to jump through a few extra hoops in order to even get his passport back home. Although it was fewer after Arcturus and Augusta had stepped in to help expedite things for him.

Their influence in the United States, however, was nil. Like its muggle counterpart, MACUSA didn't recognize titles of nobility. They did give them VIP treatment and referred to them by the proper standards dictated by their titles, but it was more out of courtesy than anything else.

Once everyone had made it through customs, they met up with Vernon who had rented a Land Rover in order to make sure there was enough room for the six of them, plus their luggage. Once everything was loaded and they were inside, Vernon shook his head and said, "Driving on this side of the car does feel odd."

Petunia smiled. "Yes, probably about as odd as driving on the wrong side of the road."

Vernon nodded. "Indeed, why can't these Americans be civilized and drive on the correct side? Oh well."

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

And there you have Chapter Five, Part One of 'The Seventh Olympian.' I hope you enjoyed it. The next part will deal a bit more with their vacation and there'll be a guest appearance from a Teen Wolf character, but that's all I'm saying for now.

As for the poll that I'd had running for this story when the last chapter was posted, asking which of twenty-five characters from the crossovers should be magical, the poll is now closed and the results are as follows:

**Teen Wolf:** **Stiles Stilinski: 24, Isaac Lahey: 15, Danny Māhealani: 15,** **Scott McCall: 13, Jackson Whittemore: 13, Liam Dunbar: 11,**_ Mason Hewitt: 3, Aidan Steiner: 1, Ethan Steiner: 1, Allison Argent: 1_

**The Vampire Diaries:** **Jeremy Gilbert: 18, Tyler Lockwood: 15,** _Matt Donovan: 8, Damon Salvatore: 8, Stefan Salvatore: 6, Alaric Saltzman: 1, Elena Gilbert: 1, Caroline Forbes: 0_

**Supernatural:** **Dean Winchester: 21, Sam Winchester: 18,** **Mary Winchester: 13,**_ Missouri Moseley: 7, Jessica Moore: 2, Ellen Harvelle: 2, Jo Harvelle: 2_

So yeah, the bolded non-italicized names are the lucky winners who will be witches or wizards in the story.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my LiveJournal (JayColin), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at . Also, don't forget to check out my Wiki: .com.


	6. Chapter 5, Part 2

The Seventh Olympian

Written By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relates to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, and Teen Wolf are the property of their respective creators, publishers, and production companies. I'm not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone's copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books or other media.

Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Background Het, Violence, Language, Canon Divergence, Crossover, Harem

-o-0-o-

Chapter Five, Part Two

-o-0-o-

_**2 August 1988…**_

Arriving at the Grand Floridian Beach Resort, Vernon parked the car, before everyone got out and grabbed their respective luggage. Entering the resort, Remus and Vernon stayed back with Hadrian and Darius, while Sirius and Petunia headed up to the check-in desk.

As one of the check-in agents became available, Sirius allowed Petunia to go first, opting to wait for the next available agent. With a smile, a middle-aged female employee, whose nametag read Julie, said, "Hello, welcome to the Grand Floridian."

"Thank you," Petunia said. "My reservation should be under the name of Dursley-Potter."

Julie nodded, before typing something on the keyboard and looking at the screen for a moment, she nodded and said, "Yes, here we are. You're in the Grand Suite for two weeks, today through the night of the fifteenth of August."

"Yes, we'll be leaving on the morning of the sixteenth," Petunia said.

"It's four people in the room according to this?" Julie asked.

Nodding, Petunia said, "Yes, Vernon and Petunia Dursley, our son Darius Dursley, and our nephew, Hadrian Potter, the Duke of Granston."

She wasn't really sure why she'd given Hadrian's title, but even if it wasn't officially recognized, it did seem to impress people and garner better treatment. As if the fact that they were booked in the largest of the resort's exclusive signature suites that cost several thousand a night and were bigger than some people's houses wasn't impressive enough.

Meanwhile, about five feet away, Sirius was handling the check-in process for him and Remus, as the agent, a young man named Chic, commented, "According to this, you're booked for the Victorian Suite, but that can't be right. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir, but I guess somebody goofed up entering your reservation. I can comp you to the Walt Disney Suite at no extra charge if you'd prefer. It's only available for the first week of your stay, but the comparable Roy O. Disney Suite will then be available for the remainder."

Sirius shook his head and said, "No, that won't be necessary, as that is the suite I booked." He preferred to stay in the same hotel room for the whole trip, rather than have to pack up and move to a different room halfway through and he knew Remus would agree with him.

"Are you sure, sir?" Chic asked, looking slightly perplexed. "The Victorian Suite is one bedroom with only one bed, while the Disney Suites both have two bedrooms."

Sirius suddenly realized the reason the offer had been made, as the clerk no doubt found it a bit odd that two men would check into a hotel room together that only had one bed. The hotel was in the muggle world, after all, and the prevailing opinion on homosexuality wasn't always positive.

Of course, it wasn't just a difference of opinion as there were still places in the muggle world where it was illegal. Sirius knew it had been decriminalized in the muggle UK (1967 for England and Wales, 1980 in Scotland, and 1982 in Northern Ireland), however, he only just now recalled that the same could not be said for parts of the United States, including Florida, which still had anti-sodomy laws on the books.

Before Sirius could say anything, however, Petunia finished up checking in and as she walked over to join the others, she had to pass behind Sirius. As she did so, she momentarily glanced at Chic, her eyes glowing gold for a split second before they returned to normal. She smiled as she heard Chic proceed to check Sirius into the room that he and Remus had booked without any further word on the matter.

By the time Sirius was finished up, all of the luggage had been loaded onto a pair of luggage carts, ready to be taken up to the rooms by two bellhops. Remus just shook his head and rolled his eyes as he spied his husband seemingly purposely walking slowly so that he could see the bellhops' butts. They were both attractive young men, after all.

Some might be jealous, but Remus wasn't because he knew that Sirius was a natural flirt and enjoyed looking. As long as that's all he did—and he wasn't fool enough to cheat on his werewolf husband—then all was good.

Once everyone was settled into their suites for the night, they ordered light dinners from room service and kicked back. After the long flight, they certainly weren't going anywhere else today, except perhaps to relax in the bath and then to bed.

-o-0-o-

The following morning, Hadrian and Darius woke at around seven-thirty in the morning. Thankfully, Petunia had placed a charm on their beds which would let them get a good night's sleep and not have to deal with any of the potentially negative side effects of the time difference.

Of course, the spell also made sure that they stayed asleep until a respectable time, as she didn't need either of them waking up at seven-thirty UK time and bouncing off the walls in anticipation of going to the Magic Kingdom. Considering that would be two-thirty in the morning Orlando time, they'd be waiting a long time for the park to even open.

Darius's bed was closed to the bathroom, so he got to it first. It took him about half-an-hour to finish up since he took his time in the shower, but thankfully there was a half-bath in the suite, so Hadrian wasn't left in dire need of a toilet while waiting for Darius to finish.

By the time both boys were showered and dressed, Vernon and Petunia were seated at the dining table, along with Sirius and Remus who'd come over from their own suite to have breakfast with the family. Room service had arrived just as Hadrian was getting out of the shower so the food was on the table as he sat down.

Obviously, it was a bit different than what they normally ate at home, since they usually had the full English breakfast at home. But, everyone had gotten used to not having it while on the trips to Mallorca, and enjoyed sampling things that weren't as readily available in the UK. Hadrian and Darius especially seemed to enjoy the waffles shaped like Mickey Mouse's head.

As everyone was finishing their breakfasts, Petunia said, "Boys, I need you to understand something before we go to the park, okay?"

"What is it, Mum?"

Petunia sighed. "I don't want to ruin the park for you, but I also don't want you to go in with unrealistic expectations. Despite being called the Magic Kingdom, you need to understand that it is a muggle theme park."

"We know," Hadrian said, and Darius nodded.

"You do?" Vernon asked.

Darius nodded. "Yeah, we've known that for years. Kevin and his parents came here on vacation two years ago. While we were in Mallorca."

"We know the so-called Disney magic isn't our kind of magic," Hadrian said. "But, from what Kevin told us about his trip it still sounds fun. So I see no reason we can't go and enjoy ourselves."

Petunia breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been worried that the boys were expecting a park full of real magic, like what was practiced in the wizarding world. And that they were going to be let down when they realized that it was a completely muggle park with all of the so-called magic just being creative uses of muggle technology. It seems she'd worried for nothing, however.

Looking at his watch, Remus smiled and said, "Well, I guess we should head to the park then."

"Yay!" Hadrian and Darius said in unison, still seeming just as excited as they had since they were first told about the trip.

-o-0-o-

After eating lunch, Vernon and Petunia took Hadrian and Darius to ride the Haunted Mansion for the second time that day. Sirius and Remus told them to go on ahead and they'd catch up with them later, as they decided to go ride the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage ride.

Remus and Sirius were all smiles as they exited the ride. It had definitely brought back some good memories for them, as one of their first dates after they'd finished Hogwarts was going out to the muggle world for dinner and a movie. And the movie just so happened to be a screening of Disney's adaptation of the classic Jules Verne novel.

Making their way over to an empty bench, they pulled out a park map to decide what they were going to do next. They weren't due to meet back up with Vernon, Petunia, and the boys until about half-an-hour before their dinner reservation at King Stefan's Banquet Hall in Cinderella's Castle.

Perusing their map, they didn't really notice any of the other guests around them, although eventually Remus looked up because his enhanced senses were telling him of a possible threat. Looking in the direction that he was sensing he saw two women, a man, and a female toddler. Remus wasn't getting any impression of possible danger from one of the women, but the other three… he could almost instantly tell that they were werewolves.

"Remy?" Sirius asked, looking away from the map, after realizing that Remus had stiffened up slightly.

Remus ignored his husband for a moment, as he briefly made eye contact with one of the women, a beautiful woman with long brown hair. She almost immediately pulled out her wallet and handed some money to the man with her, who knelt down and picked up the toddler.

Focusing his hearing, Remus heard the woman say, "Peter, take Laura and get some ice cream, please."

The other woman nodded and added, "And then, if you could, take her to ride Dumbo and It's a Small World."

The man, Peter, looked like he wanted to object especially after talk of It's a Small World, but after a hard look from the other woman who due to the resemblance, Remus thought might be his sister, he sighed and nodded, before walking away with the little girl in his arms towards the ice cream stand.

Once Peter and the little girl were out of sight, the brown-haired woman and the other woman who had long black hair shared a glance before they began moving in Remus and Sirius's direction.

"Remy?" Sirius said again, before he glanced over and noticed the two women, just as they came to a stop in front of them. Putting on a smile, Sirius said, "Hello."

"Hi," the brown-haired woman said. "My name is Talia Hale and this is my wife, Ellen."

Remus was still quiet, as he looked at the two women, his eyes lingering more on Talia than on Ellen.

"Sirius Black and this is my husband, Remus."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Ellen said, before she looked at Remus and whispered so softly that Sirius couldn't hear what she was saying, but Remus could. "You needn't worry, Remus. Talia and I don't mean you any harm."

Talia nodded as she looked over at Remus at this and said, "We would like to talk to you, however." And then looking around, she added, "Perhaps, somewhere a little more private where we can speak freely without whispering?"

Remus nodded before he stood up, prompting Sirius to stand as well. "Our hotel room, perhaps?" Remus whispered. "We're just across the bay at the Grand Floridian."

The two women nodded acceptance to that plan. Sirius looked a little confused since he hadn't heard the whispered conversation, but he trusted Remus, so he quietly followed along as they headed for the docks where they could take a boat across the bay to the hotel.

-o-0-o-

Awhile later, Remus, Sirius, Talia, and Ellen entered the Victorian Suite at the Grand Floridian. Once they all sat down in the living room area, Talia said, aloud so Sirius could hear, as she also allowed her eyes to flash red for a moment, "I'm an alpha werewolf. I think Remus and I sensed each other at about the same time, back in the park."

"Ah, okay," Sirius said, beginning to understand now.

Ellen smiled. "I'm not a werewolf, but I am a witch."

"Sirius and I are both wizards," Remus said. "And I'm a werewolf, but then I think you both already knew that."

Talia and Ellen nodded.

After a moment of silence, Talia gave Remus a concerned look and asked, "Why are you drinking that poison?"

"Poison?" Sirius asked, his eyes widening.

"The Wolfsbane Potion," Talia said. "I can smell the residue in your scent."

Remus looked confused, as he said, "It helps me keep control during the full moons, makes the transformation less painful."

"It's also killing you," Talia said. "Aconite, monkshood, wolfsbane, no matter what you call it, for werewolves, its poison."

"Contrary to popular belief in Europe," Ellen said, "mixing it up as a potion does not negate the plant's poisonous effect on werewolves. But then, that was the whole point. Damocles Belby has been very careful to hide his true motivations for creating the potion, but if one knows where to look, it can be uncovered."

"I don't understand," Sirius said.

"He's a member of a secret society that hates werewolves," Talia revealed. "His mother, sister, and two of his cousins were bitten in the mid-1950s. Unfortunately, his cousins didn't survive the bite, and his mother and sister were put down by a group of hunters."

"Obviously, they don't market it this way," Ellen said, "but the true purpose of the Wolfsbane Potion is to poison werewolves so that they're weaker during the full moons and easier to kill. And in the event that they're not killed, repeated use of the potion will slowly poison them, speeding up their aging process until it kills them."

"The society's ultimate goal is to exterminate werewolves," Talia said. "They're willing to play the long game to achieve that goal, however. Its why many of the society's members are often among the chief supporters of legislation in countries all over the world which would setup special government-backed funds to supply the potion to werewolves who couldn't otherwise afford it."

Sirius and Remus were quiet for a few moments, before Remus said, "So, I should just allow myself to become a crazed, murderous beast once a month?"

"No, that is not what I'm suggesting," Talia said. "What you need to do is find an anchor to help you remain connected to your humanity."

"An anchor can be just about anything," Ellen revealed. "A person, a relationship with a person, an emotion, an object, a mantra, or even just a given werewolf's own sense of self. The important thing is that you learn to focus on it during the full moon. It usually takes two or three full moons to master, although it can take longer for a werewolf who has anger issues."

"In the long run, however," Talia added, "an anchor is far preferable because it allows you to retain your humanity during the full moon, doesn't require you to be locked up, and also doesn't involve ingesting poison that will slowly kill you."

Not long after this, Talia took Remus into the bedroom to begin training him on how to properly use an anchor to retain his humanity during the full moon. This left Sirius and Ellen in the living room.

"Remus and I don't get many opportunities to speak to other werewolves," Sirius said. "Back home, he does have several witches and wizards, all close friends or family, that he considers to be his pack, but he's the only werewolf in the group."

Ellen nodded. "Yes, I've heard that omegas are far more common in Europe, due to most werewolves not wanting to draw attention to the fact that they're werewolves due to the anti-werewolf legislation that so many of the European countries have passed."

Sirius nodded. "I was wondering, do you happen to know if lycanthropy is passed on to one's children? Back home, I'm the heir to a magical noble family and the current lord, my grandfather, wants me to sire children to ensure our family's continued existence. Problem is, Remus is terrified of passing on his lycanthropy."

Before Ellen could respond, Sirius added, "He's also my first husband and soulmate, so I can't take another spouse to sire children with, unless I divorce him which is not something I want to do."

"Yes, lycanthropy can be passed on to one's children," Ellen answered. "In a case like Talia's and mine, where I'm a witch and Talia is a No-Maj werewolf, the werewolf gene is dominant. Our daughter Laura is a born werewolf, but she is not a witch, as it seems that in order to be born as a werewolf/wizard or witch hybrid one needs to inherit magic from both parents. Otherwise the werewolf gene will take precedence and the magic genes remain dormant."

Sirius nodded. Many witches and wizards would have absolutely no idea what Ellen was talking about when she started talking about genes. Sirius, however, had the advantage of being married to Remus and having been friends with the late Lily Evans Potter. "Well, that's not going to make Remus happy."

"I assume Remus is a bitten werewolf?"

"Yes, he was bitten as a child, a couple months before his fifth birthday."

"That's horrible that any alpha world target someone so young," Ellen said. Shaking her head, she added, "Something which might allay his fears, however, is the knowledge that born werewolves do not shift until they reach puberty at around thirteen. They might experience mood swings and an increased desire for meat prior to that, but they will not experience their first shift before then."

"Yes, I think that might help. I think his main concern was that he didn't want to have to watch a child as young as he was when he was bitten having to deal with the monthly transformations."

"Something else that will help lessen the pain of the monthly transformation," Ellen began, "and that Talia and I have found is almost unknown knowledge among European werewolves that we've met, is that it is possible to shift at will, at any time, without the full moon."

Sirius cocked his head. "I had heard rumors about that. In fact, there's a rumor that the alpha who turned Remus all those years ago has the ability to shift at will, without the full moon. But we were never sure if that was actually true."

"It is true, as all werewolves can do it. In No-Maj—I believe you call them muggles—werewolves, they can experience involuntary shifts if they get angry. However, magic seems to temper their emotions so that it doesn't happen. So, due to the anti-werewolf legislation that many magical countries have passed, most wizard/witch werewolf hybrids never even learn about their ability to shift at will because they are always trying to hide the fact that they're a werewolf."

"So these voluntary at will shifts make the involuntary shift on the full moon easier to deal with?"

Nodding, Ellen answered. "Yes, if one frequently shifts at will, it allows the body to adapt and get used to the shift. That's the main reason for the pain, as the body isn't used to it and has a hard time getting used to it if one only does it once a month. The more one shifts, however, the easier and less painful it becomes, until the pain almost completely disappears."

Before Sirius could say anything, Ellen added, "Of course, born werewolves experience far less pain while shifting than bitten werewolves, because a born werewolf's body develops from the moment of conception to take the shifting into account.

"Obviously, for a bitten werewolf, that's not the case and thus, their pain level during shifts can be more severe due to their body not being built to accommodate shifting. The body can adapt and get used to it with time, but if one limits their shifting to only once a month, barring the occasional twice a month due to a blue moon, then it takes a lot longer."

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

Well, there you have Ch5-2 of 'The Seventh Olympian'. In the next chapter, they'll probably be back in the UK and there'll be another time jump to bring Hadrian, Darius, and their friends closer to Hogwarts age.

I know some of you might have been expecting there to be a magical version of Walt Disney World, but the main purpose of their vacation to Florida was to allow Sirius and Remus to meet up with a vacationing Talia Hale. Fans of Teen Wolf will recognize Talia, Laura, and Peter Hale, who were all mentioned in this chapter, while Ellen Hale is an original character.

This chapter is shorter than I'd intended it to be, but with my beta and sounding board out of commission due to failing eyesight and a month-long bout of writer's block, I decided to end it here and move on so that I can try and keep up regular updates. If shorter chapters are the price to pay, then so be it.

I'm now accepting submissions on my group for background characters from the other magical schools around the world for the Triwizard Tournament. You can find more info on my group, the address is below.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my LiveJournal (JayColin), my group: (slash) g (slash) storiesbyjayson, or on Twitter JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at . Also, don't forget to check out my Wiki: .com, for character profiles and story guides.


	7. Chapter 6

The Seventh Olympian

Written By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Six

-o-0-o-

_**29 August 1989…**_

"Snivellus? You invited Snivellus?"

Remus rolled his eyes, as he continued preparing the salad course for dinner. Knowing that Sirius expected an answer, he said simply, "Yes."

"Why?" Sirius whined. "I don't want him in my house!"

Shaking his head, Remus turned to look over his shoulder at his whining, pregnant husband and asked, "So what did you expect me to do? Invite Fabian to dinner and tell him that he can't bring his husband?"

"Sounds good to me," Sirius said, earning a glare from Remus before he groaned. "I'll never understand what he sees in him."

Turning his attention back to the salad, Remus asked, "Just a guess, but maybe the father of his son?"

Fabian and Severus had started dating in 1986 after he and his twin had finished their physical therapy and had fully recovered from their comas. After nearly two years of dating, Fabian happily announced his engagement to Severus at the same time that he announced that Severus was carrying his child.

The happy couple were wed in a double wedding ceremony along with Gideon and his girlfriend of two years, Emmeline Vance, in July of 1988. In December, only a week before Christmas, Emmeline gave Gideon a daughter, Laura, while Fabian's and Severus's son, Cameron, was born only four days later, three days before Christmas.

"Not saying that I condone this because I don't," Remus said, "but if it makes you feel better, you can always make fun of Severus's weight. He is pregnant again, four months farther along than you are, and likely to give birth any day now, so he's a lot heavier than normal."

That brought a smile to Sirius's face, although it was rather short-lived as he said, "Snivellus better keep that kid in while he's in our house. I so don't need him going into labor during dessert… or at any other time while he's here."

"I'm inclined to agree," Remus said, even though it was for entirely different reasons than Sirius's.

Before either of them could say anything more, the Floo bell rang to let them know that someone who'd been granted Floo access to Number 5's basement fireplace had arrived. As he continued prepping the salad, Remus asked, "Could you go downstairs and greet our guests? I'm busy with dinner."

Sirius nodded before he made his way over to the basement door and carefully made his way down the stairs to find Albus, Poppy, and the Flamels, Nicolas and Perenelle, dusting themselves off.

"Welcome everyone," Sirius said with a smile, as he accepted a bottle of wine from each of them.

Despite Voldemort's defeat in 1981, the Order of the Phoenix still gathered for regular dinners, alternating who was hosting, and it was the accepted rule that each guest would bring a bottle of wine as a hostess gift. The wine would not be served during the party, but would instead replace the wine that the host was serving. All of the people on the hosting rotation had a wine cellar, so it was a nice gesture for each guest to help replenish what would be drunk during the dinner party.

"Remus is upstairs," Sirius said, as he gestured for the stairs, figuring that he'd stay down here now until all the guests arrived, rather than going up and down the stairs several times.

Sirius had just placed the three bottles of wine that Poppy, Albus, and the Flamels had brought when the Floo bell rang again. Exiting the wine cellar, he found Alastor Moody, Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Doge, Sturgis Podmore, and his wife, and Arabella Figg waiting.

Greeting them all, Sirius took their bottles just as the bell rang again, as Gideon, Emmeline, Fabian, Severus, Petunia, and Aberforth stepped through the Floo.

Vernon stayed home with the Hadrian and Darius, as these dinners were only for the adults, so no children allowed. Thus, Remus and Sirius's firstborn sons, Regulus Orion and Rigel Arcturus Black, born in May, were spending the evening with their great-grandmother Melania and great-grandfather Arcturus.

-o-0-o-

Speaking of Hadrian and Darius, the latter was currently in his and Hadrian's bedroom on the computer, while Vernon was watching the nightly news in the living room. Petunia had prepared dinner for them before she left and put it under Warming and Preservation Charms, so they could eat whenever they got hungry.

Hadrian, meanwhile, had curled up in his favorite spot in the conservatory. Opening his journal, he started writing.

_**Hey guys. You there?**_

There wasn't an immediate response, prompting Hadrian to set the journal aside, still open to the page he'd written on, and looked out the window. Although he couldn't really see much, considering the fog that was almost thicker than pea soup and the heavy rain that was currently falling, causing waves of water to flow down the glass roof and walls of the conservatory.

The rain was why Petunia decided to Floo next door to Number 5 for the Order dinner, rather than just walk over as she usually would have this time of year.

Glancing down at the journal, Hadrian saw writing appearing so he picked it up.

_**Hey Rian. – F**_

_**We're here. I hope you weren't waiting too long for a response. We just got back to our room after playing Quidditch all afternoon with the sibs and some friends. – M**_

_**Oh, cool. No, I wasn't waiting too long. Maybe two minutes.**_

_**You mind waiting a few more? Just so we can change out of our Quidditch gear and grab a shower? – F**_

_**Sure, playing all afternoon I suppose you're probably sweaty, so I don't blame you for wanting a shower and change of clothes.**_

_**Thanks, we'll be as quick as possible. – M**_

_**Take your time, there's no rush.**_

A part of Hadrian was jealous that Micheil and Finlay had spent all afternoon playing Quidditch. From what he'd seen it looked super fun and he really wanted to play, but Aunt Petunia said he was too young. Uncle Vernon, not having magic and wanting to keep up a united front, sided with his wife.

Hadrian had, of course, hoped that some of the other adults in his life would side with him, but unfortunately, Sirius, Remus, and the grandparents all agreed that nine was too young. While a small part of him wanted to resent being told he was too young to do something, he also knew that the adults in his life not only wanted him to be happy but also safe and healthy.

Micheil had also told him via the journal a couple of months ago that their parents hadn't allowed them to play Quidditch until they were twelve. Finlay then added that it was also why Hogwarts didn't allow first-year students to join the house Quidditch teams.

As he awaited Micheil and Finlay to get back, Harry indulged in some aimless thoughts and daydreams about Quidditch and flying, which had quickly become one of his favorite pastimes since getting his first training broom. After a few minutes of woolgathering, he shook his head and saw writing appearing in the journal.

_**And we're back. – M**_

_**So what's up with you tonight? – F**_

Grabbing his pen and adjusting the journal in his lap so that he could write comfortably, he began writing back.

_**Just a quiet evening at home. Uncle is watching TV, Darius is playing computer games, and I'm sitting here in the conservatory.**_

_**Your favorite writing spot. – F**_

_**What about your aunt? – M**_

_**She's next door at Sirius and Remus's house. The Order is having another of their dinners.**_

_**Ah. It's pretty quiet here too. – F**_

_**How's Darius doing, by the way? He was sick recently wasn't he? – M**_

_**Yeah, he had the measles. Piers and Kevin had it too. They're all on the mend now though.**_

_**Well, you should know that there's been several confirmed cases of Dragon Pox recently. Dad will be making an announcement in the morning, but he gave us permission to tell you before then if we were in contact with you. – M**_

_**Having already been sick recently, Darius, Piers, and Kevin could be at greater risk of contracting it, if they come into contact with a carrier of it. – F**_

_**I'll be sure to let my Aunt and Uncle know about it.**_

-o-0-o-

_**5 September 1989…**_

Lucius Malfoy was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace at Peacock Hill, the traditional home of the Malfoy heir in the Earldom of Bratton. Of course, much to his dismay, he wasn't living at the house because he was the heir. He was living there because his son was the heir.

Following Voldemort's defeat in 1981, Lucius was able to avoid Azkaban by claiming he'd been under the influence of the Imperius Curse. The fact that the Dark Mark had faded from his arm after Voldemort's death also helped, but there were too many known Death Eaters who had named him as a fellow Death Eater that visible mark or not, he'd needed the Imperius excuse.

After some pressure from Grand Duke Theseus Scamander, the liege-lord of House Malfoy, his father, Lord Abraxas Malfoy, disinherited him for behavior unbecoming of the Right Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy. Thus, on the night of 2 July 1985—the first full moon following his fifth birthday—Draco Malfoy underwent the Ritual of Confirmation to be confirmed as the Malfoy heir.

Lucius didn't like it, but he was willing to deal with it while his father remained in good health. He also began a concentrated effort to ingratiate himself to his father so that he could hopefully convince him to restore him as the heir. He'd finally succeeded in doing so only recently.

There was one problem, however.

Before Abraxas could sign the necessary papers or perform the required magical ritual, he fell ill with Dragon Pox and was currently quarantined at Malfoy Manor. Last he'd heard, the pox had left him so weak that he couldn't even feed himself, let alone sign documents or perform the magic necessary to reverse Lucius's disownment and restore him as the heir.

Taking a sip of his cognac, Lucius muttered, "You'd better pull through this, Father."

"You're not going to get your wish, Lucius," a male voice said, prompting Lucius to look up and see his great-granduncle Marcel Malfoy standing in the doorway.

"What do you mean?"

Marcel sighed, as he walked over to the liquor cart and poured himself a glass of cognac. Taking a fortifying sip of his drink, Marcel, who had served as the steward of House Malfoy since before his grandnephew Abraxas was even born, turned to Lucius and said, "He's gone."

"What?"

"Your father is dead, Lucius," Marcel said. "And before you ask, no, he didn't sign the papers before he died. So you are still disinherited and Draco will be the next Lord Malfoy."

Lucius didn't say a word as he downed the rest of his drink before he turned and threw his now-empty tumbler into the fireplace, where it shattered on impact.

"_**Reparo!**_" Marcel said, pointing his wand at the fireplace and making the broken tumbler reassemble itself. "There's no need to destroy family heirlooms that are older than both of us combined, young man."

"Don't tell me what to do in my own house," Lucius muttered.

A moment later, he jumped and suppressed the urge to yelp as he felt a particularly strong Stinging Hex hit his bum.

"Respect your elders, young man. And unless you've forgotten, this isn't your house. You may live in it, but you don't own it. Draco does."

"He's just a kid," Lucius argued. "He's only nine bloody years old for Merlin's sake."

Marcel raised an eyebrow. "Be that as it may, with your father's death, Draco is now the Confirmed Heir Apparent and will be the next Lord Malfoy as soon as he's old enough to do the Ritual of Claiming."

"There must be something that can be done to restore me as the heir."

"Don't play dumb, Lucius, it doesn't become you. You know as well as I do that only the Lord Malfoy can alter who their heir is and since the Lord Malfoy is now dead, Draco is locked in as the heir and that cannot be changed. As I said, he will be the next Lord Malfoy and there is nothing that you or anyone else can do about it."

Finishing his drink, Marcel put his empty tumbler on the sideboard next to Lucius's repaired empty tumbler. As he neared the doors, he said over his shoulder, "And I should really hope that I don't have to say this, Lucius, but even if Draco didn't survive until his eleventh birthday for some reason, you're still disinherited and only the Lord Malfoy can reverse that, so even if you were to somehow become the last living male member of the family, you still wouldn't become Lord Malfoy so long as you're legally and magically disinherited."

Lucius didn't say anything, prompting his great-granduncle to leave the room without another word. Marcel had been correct, however, in stating that he didn't have to say it. While Lucius was angry that his son would be the next Lord Malfoy, he would never even entertain the idea of killing him.

Not only because that would make Marcel the new Lord Malfoy, followed by his grandson Henri, but despite his anger with the situation, Lucius did still love his son too much to kill him. Even if he didn't, he wouldn't do it for the simple fact that Narcissa would make his life a living hell if he did.

-o-0-o-

_**7 September 1989…**_

_**Hey guys. Sorry I haven't written in a few days. It's been very busy.**_

_**It's okay, we understand. Sirius still raging? – M**_

_**And how's Darius? – F**_

Hadrian couldn't help but laugh at Micheil's question, although Finlay's made him a little soberer.

_**Darius is okay. The healers say he should be okay to come home in a day or two. He had a very minor case of Dragon Pox, so no lifelong pockmarks or green tinge.**_

_**I'm sure he's very thankful. – F**_

_**Definitely. As for Sirius, well, do snitches fly?**_

_**We're both laughing. So, I guess that's a yes. – M**_

_**Yup. Sirius is not the least bit pleased that Severus went into labor just as Remus was bringing out dessert. The fact that it's been over a week has done nothing to quell his ire.**_

_**I can imagine. What does he call him again? – F**_

_**Snivellus.**_

_**Huh. I don't really know him that well, as we haven't had him as a professor yet since he only teaches the NEWT students. But from what we've heard, he's probably the least liked professor at Hogwarts. – M**_

_**Which is strange because his husband and brother-in-law are really cool. Starting this year, we have them for Charms and Transfiguration through the end of fifth year and have no complaints. – F**_

_**Granted it's only the first week of school, but I haven't seen anything that makes me think either Professor Prewett is going to suddenly turn into a horrible professor. – M**_

Hadrian and the twins chatted for a few more minutes, before the twins said their goodbyes, as they had to head down to the Great Hall for dinner, after which they were meeting some friends in the library for a study session for a while before curfew.

-o-0-o-

_**31 July 1990…**_

After dinner and presents, Hadrian found himself sitting on a pillow at the feet of his Grandpa Arcturus. Darius was seated next to him, with Chase sleeping peacefully between them, his head resting on Darius's thigh. Resting on Hadrian's thigh, was Chase's tail, which was now slightly shorter than it had been, because as he neared his fifth birthday, his tail had begun to fork at the end, much to everyone's surprise.

They'd thought he was a purebred beagle, but apparently, he had a little bit of Crup blood in his system, as the forked tail suggested. Taking him to a wizarding veterinarian, they found out that Chase was actually one-eighth Crup. According to the vet, his majority beagle ancestry is why the forked tail didn't appear at birth, as apparently at a quarter and below, a muggle breed crossbred with a Crup tends to look only like the muggle breed.

Rarely, when owned by a magical family and thus exposed to magic on a regular enough basis, some of the Crup characteristics can come out as they mature, although this is usually limited to increased loyalty to wizards and a small forking of the tail, which wizarding law still required be removed if the dog was going to be living in the muggle world. Thankfully, due to the small amount of Crup blood, Chase didn't inherit the hostility towards muggles that Crups are known for, as that would have been difficult to deal with, what with Vernon in the house.

"So, grandfather, we were wondering if you could tell us more about not only your mage-sight and what you see when looking at other people, but also some of the other things that are possible to inherit when we turn fifteen."

Nodding at Hadrian, Arcturus said, "I can do that. Although first of all, I'd point out that fifteen is not the first inheritance you'll receive in your lives."

Hadrian nodded and said, "There's one at eleven and another at thirteen, right?"

With a smile, Pollux, who was seated on the nearby loveseat with his wife, nodded and said, "Indeed. Starting at eleven and then every two years until your seventeenth birthday, you'll have an inheritance."

"The first two only raise your power level and magical reserves," Irma added.

There actually was another aspect that usually occurred along with the inheritance of the thirteenth year, but knowing what Darius and Hadrian were planning on talking to their grandparents about, Petunia asked that they refrain from mentioning it. She believed, and Melania and Irma agreed, that the boys were still a little too young for that particular conversation.

Especially since there was no guarantee about the aspect in question even affecting them. It affected a majority, but not all, so Petunia figured it was best to wait until they were older.

Taking a sip of his tea, which both he and Pollux had laced with a splash of Firewhisky when their wives weren't looking, Arcturus said, "At fifteen and seventeen, you'll get larger increases to your power reserves. However, fifteen also marks the age at when any special abilities that you might have been born with will usually activate."

"There are some exceptions to that rule, of course," Irma said, as she almost imperceptibly rolled her eyes at her husband for thinking she didn't know about the addition to his tea. "One is for those rare individuals who are born what's called a metamorphmagus. Do either of you know what that is?"

Hadrian and Darius looked contemplative, as they thought about it. After a moment, Darius asked, "That's the ability to change your appearance without a potion or spell, right?"

"Correct," Irma answered. "Metamorphmagi can often change their coloring long before their fifteenth birthday. Even when they're still a baby. Although they're not doing it consciously, as when it happens that young, generally it's connected to their emotions."

"Hair color is usually the first thing they can change," Arcturus added. "Then eye color, then skin color, and finally, and this is usually only after their fifteenth birthday, change the shape of their facial features. Depending on how magically powerful a metamorphmagi is will also determine how far they can take those changes."

Pollux nodded. "Exceptionally powerful ones may be able to both shorten and lengthen their hair at will and even change their height, build, and weight. Although with that last one that's no excuse to eat like a pig and not exercise, because as any metamorphmagi will tell you, the changes they make to their body are only temporary. Even the most powerful ones can't keep the changes intact for more than a few hours at a time."

"Indeed," Irma said, "and using their ability gets harder and more magically strenuous the more changes they're trying to make at once."

"Of course, another example, as we've now learned," Arcturus said, "is Rigel and Regulus, as while they are born werewolves, their ability to shift won't activate until their thirteenth birthday."

Hadrian and Darius nodded but remained silent.

Arcturus continued, "So on the topic of mage-sight, as I've told you before, it allows me to see auras. That is I can actually see the magic emanating from every witch or wizard and from that I can judge their pool of reserves, how much magic they're likely to be able to put into their spells, and even when they're casting silently and wandless, I have some advance warning of what they're going to cast."

"That's so cool," Darius said.

"It does have its advantages," Arcturus agreed. "Anyway, most people's auras are a mix of three different colors: white, grey, and black. Some have far more of one than the other two, although it's rare that anyone would have all of one and none of the other two."

Melania nodded, as having been married to Arcturus for over fifty years, she was almost as much an expert on mage-sight as he was from their numerous conversations about it over the years. "The colors are associated with the type of spells one casts. White is light, gray is neutral, and black is dark. That's why almost nobody has all of one and none of the other two, because well over half of the spells that exist are neither light nor dark."

"Notice that Melania did not say good or evil," Pollux said. "It's important that you understand that no spell is inherently good or evil. It all depends on how the spell is used… so the intent of the caster."

"Even the Unforgivables?" Darius asked.

"Yes, even the Unforgivables," Pollux answered. "The Killing Curse, for example, was invented by a wizard who wanted to put an end to his wife's suffering. She had an incurable magical wasting sickness which would slowly kill her but left her in excruciating pain. They both wanted a quick and painless way to end her suffering."

"So, what color are our auras?" Hadrian asked.

"Well, for Darius, it's a mix of white and grey," Arcturus said. "Which isn't all that surprising, since almost every spell that could add any black is well beyond the level that either of you would be to cast without a wand."

Taking a sip of her tea, Melania said, "If you've ever seen a tree stump after a tree is cut down, you'll see the rings on the stump, which is an indicator of how old the tree was when it was cut down."

Darius and Hadrian nodded, before she added, "Something very similar is true for one's magical aura, as it manifests with a series of visible rings which can be used by one with mage-sight to determine how powerful that witch or wizard is, which is a measure of how big their reserves of power are."

"So how big are my reserves?" Darius asked.

Arcturus smiled. "Well, Darius you are, in fact, one of the most powerful young men your age that I've ever seen. One's magical ability is ranked on a scale from 1 to 48, with 1 being a muggle having no magical power, 7 being a wizard and the minimum required to attend any of the world's magical schools, and 48 being what's called an archmagister, which from everything we know about magical theory, is the highest possible rating that a mortal can achieve without divine intervention."

"So where do I fall?" Darius asked a slight note of impatience in his tone.

Arcturus ignored it, however, as he said, "As you might have guessed from my referring to 48 as an archmagister, each number has a name associated with it. You're what's called a sage, Darius, which is a 21 on the scale. Out of all your current friends that I've met, only Hadrian, Princes Micheil, and Finlay, and Neall and Niall MacDougal are stronger than you."

"Well, they're all older and have had some of their inheritances, so I guess that makes sense," Hadrian commented.

"It's more than that, Hadrian," Pollux said. "Micheil and Finlay, and Neall and Niall are conjoined twins. Living here in the muggle world, you've probably noticed that conjoined twins are extremely rare and when they are born, they're frequently surgically separated, even if it may mean the death of one or both twins. They're seen among muggles as an abnormal aberration, the result of a birth defect that needs to be fixed."

"In the magical world, however, conjoined twins are far more common," Irma said. "And rather than seeing them as an aberration, any wizarding family that grew up in a magical household instead sees them as a gift from the embodiment of Magic itself, whether that be Lady Hecate, or whichever deity governs magic in the pantheon that they worship."

"The reasoning behind that is very simple," Melania said. "Conjoined twins are still two people, so they, just like every other witch or wizard who isn't conjoined, has their own magical core, which is the invisible font of magical power deep within their very being from which their magical aura emanates. For conjoined twins, however, their cores are interconnected in such a way that from birth they can both draw on the power of not only their own core but their sibling's core as well."

"That effectively doubles their magical power and reserves," Arcturus said. "And because how much magic a given witch or wizard possesses depends partly on how magically powerful their parents were, conjoined twins, are extremely highly prized because they can almost single-handedly bring strong magic back into a waning line."

Irma grinned and said, "The muggle expression of having to beat suitors off with a stick definitely applies in this case, as magical conjoined twins will never have any problems finding mates in the magical world."

Hadrian and Darius nodded in understanding, both happy for their friends that they wouldn't have any problems finding mates in the future.

"So, Darius is a sage, what am I?" Hadrian asked. "And what does my aura look like?"

"As I said, you're stronger than Darius, Hadrian," Arcturus answered. "I've very rarely seen someone your age who isn't a conjoined twin have this amount of power before their first inheritance. The same can be said for Darius. You're a twenty-four on the scale, Hadrian, or a Master Sage. If you're curious, that's two levels higher than Neall and Niall and equal to Micheil and Finlay."

Hadrian grinned as he said, "Cool," as he looked over at Darius and said in a sing-song voice, "I'm more powerful than you."

Irma shook her head, "Don't mock your cousin, Hadrian. Not only is it not polite, but it's also incorrect. While you might have greater reserves of power, that doesn't necessarily make you more powerful than him. It just means that you've got more inherent magic to draw upon, but with the right amount of training and practice, he could still beat you in a duel."

"Greater reserves, if used to one's advantage, can give a dueler a greater chance of outlasting an opponent with fewer reserves," Pollux added. "However, as my wife said, depending on your training and repertoire of spells, you can still beat someone who's technically more powerful."

"Indeed," Melania agreed. "Ultimately, one's power reserves are as useless as a heavy winter cloak on a hot summer's day if you don't know how to use them properly. Or if you're weak on defense against an opponent that's strong on offense."

Hadrian nodded. "Okay, that makes sense. So what color is my aura?"

"Your aura, Hadrian, is unlike anything I've ever seen before," Arcturus said. "You'll remember that I said auras manifest in white, grey, and black?"

Hadrian and Darius nodded attentively.

"Hadrian's aura, and don't ask me to explain because I can't," Arcturus said, "is mostly white and gray, but there's also swirls and lines of brilliant gold, that I've never seen before in anyone else. And nothing I've ever read on the subject has mentioned it, so I honestly don't know what it means."

"Cake time!" Petunia's voice carried into the room from the dining room, as the adults simply grinned as they watched Hadrian and Darius get up so fast you'd think the pillows they were seated on had burned their bums.

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

And there's Ch6 of 'The Seventh Olympian.' Next chapter, there'll be another time jump and Hadrian and Darius will start Hogwarts. I'm not currently sure how many chapters each school year will take to cover, but I'm going to try to keep it limited to 3 to 5 between time jumps and only covering major events.

I also still have to work out exactly what to do for third-year since Sirius never went to Azkaban in this story. Considering the main plot of third-year in canon was Sirius's escape from Azkaban, that does pose something of an issue.

Anyway, I'm still accepting submissions for students from the world's other magical schools on my group who will be part of the delegations for the Triwizard Tournament, which will include every magical school in the world, as all 8 of the canon schools that JKR has given details about, plus 4 of my own creation, will be bringing delegations for the Tournament.

As of the time of this writing (April 24, 2020), 9 spots are remaining for the Durmstrang delegation, 7 spots for Beauxbatons, 1 spot for Ilvermorny, 9 spots for Castelobruxo, 11 spots for Koldovstoretz, 10 spots for Mahoutokoro, 11 spots of Uagadou, 7 spots for Maliton, 10 spots for Esliderra, 10 spots of Machapuchare, and 11 spots for Takonia (the last four being the schools I created).

You can get more details on my group, including where each school is located, what areas of the globe they serve, and the information I need for character submissions. In addition to viewing the submissions that have already been submitted.


	8. Chapter 7

The Seventh Olympian

Written By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Seven

-o-0-o-

_**1 July 1990…**_

Eleven-year-old Dean Winchester was lounging on the bed he shared with his little brother, seven-year-old Sam, in a rather seedy and rundown motel on the outskirts of some podunk town that was basically in the middle of nowheresville. Or at least as far as Dean was concerned. He knew they were somewhere in Wyoming, but other than that he honestly hadn't paid much attention nor did he really care.

They were in town because his father, John, was off on another hunt. There'd been reports of a restless spirit haunting the local church. Or was it a school? Dean couldn't remember, because honestly, he was annoyed that his father didn't take him along and instead just made him stay in the motel room with Sam. While he went out and had all the fun.

Dean loved his brother, although sometimes he really wanted to get away from him because he didn't think it was normal for a four-year-old to basically raise a baby. This is pretty much what Dean had been doing since Sam was six-months-old and their mother was killed by the Yellow-Eyed Demon. Dean was pretty sure that he'd changed more of Sam's diapers and handled more 3 AM feedings in his young life than John ever had.

'_**I potty-trained the little runt and taught him how to walk and talk,'**_ Dean thought. _**'How is that my job? I'm his brother, not his father.'**_

Dean was very careful when teaching Sam how to talk to not teach him the words father or dad. As far as Dean was concerned, if John wanted him to know those words, he could teach him. But he wasn't going to risk Sammy calling him dad.

Speaking of, Sam was currently lying on his stomach on John's bed, his feet up in the air and his chin on one hand, as he read a book. Yeah, that was another thing that Dean had to teach him. Well, Sam's kindergarten teacher did most of the work, but Dean had made sure his little brother could at least read and write his own name before starting school.

Dean sighed. There was no point in dwelling on his dad's actions or lack of them in certain regards. And Dean did understand what drove John. He wanted to find and kill the son of a bitch demon that had killed Mary and burned down their house in Lawrence, Kansas. He could support that. If getting revenge on old Yellow-Eyes meant that he had to raise Sam then so be it. It was a small price to pay to see the mother that Sam didn't even remember avenged.

Tuning out his thoughts, Dean instead decided to focus on the music that was currently being piped into his ears through his Walkman's headphones. Totally losing himself in Metallica, he didn't notice when there was a tapping noise on the window of the motel room or when it caused Sam to look up from his book.

Seeing that Dean was preoccupied, Sam got up and moved over to the window. Pushing the curtain aside, he practically fell over in shock when he saw an owl seated on the windowsill, tapping its beak against the glass. If that wasn't enough of a shock for young Sam, however, then the fact that the owl had an envelope tied to its leg certainly was.

Squinting down at the envelope, Sam was able to make out the writing after a moment.

_**Mr. D. Winchester**_

_**Left Bed of Room 12**_

_**North Star Motel**_

_**Bedford, Wyoming 83127**_

"Dean? There's an owl outside the window," Sam said. "With a letter addressed to you." Turning his head to look at his brother, Sam asked, "Dean?"

Dean wasn't listening though. Not that Sam was surprised. Even from his place by the window about ten feet away from where Dean was on the bed, he could hear Metallica blasting through his brother's headphones loud enough that he could hear the lyrics of the song even though he wasn't the one wearing the headphones.

Sighing, Sam clambered over to the bed he shared with his brother and positioned himself just to the right of Dean's body, before putting his face right over his brothers as he said, "Dean!" as he shook his brother's shoulder.

"What now, Sammy?" Dean asked, as he paused his music and took off his headphones. He was seriously tempted sometimes to call his brother a bitch, but he restrained himself since Sam was only seven. "If you're hungry there's leftover pizza in the mini-fridge."

Sam wrinkled his nose. "It's got jalapenos on it. Besides, I'm not hungry. I was trying to tell you that there's an owl outside the window and it has a letter addressed to you."

Dean was silent for a moment before he sat up and grabbed Sam's head as he began examining it for any sign of head injury. Finding none, he said, "Well, I don't see any lumps or bumps, so you don't appear to be hurt."

"Duh," Sam said. "Just look out the window if you don't believe me."

Deciding to humor his little brother so that he'd go back to reading and let him get back to his music, Dean got up from the bed and moved over to the window, now hearing the tapping noise on the glass. Pushing back the curtain, Dean's eyes widened as he saw that Sam was, in fact, not crazy.

An owl was sitting on the windowsill, tapping its beak on the windowsill, and looking closer, he noted that just as Sam said, it had a letter addressed to him tied to its leg.

"See, I told you," Sam said as he reached over to the window latch.

Dean caught his hand midway there, however, and said, "Whoa, Sam, what do you think you're doing. If you or the owl breaks that salt line, Dad will kill you. Besides, how do we know that's actually an owl? It could be some sort of shapeshifter trying to trick us."

Before Sam could respond, the motel room's phone started ringing, making both boys jump. Not trusting Sam to not open the window while he went to answer the phone, Dean put his little brother in a headlock and dragged him over to the nightstand with him, where he grabbed the phone.

"Yes?" Dean asked into the phone.

"Dean, it's Dad," John's voice said. "Just finished with work and I'm heading back. Should be there in twenty minutes. You guys want me to stop for McDonald's or something?"

"Sounds good, Dad," Dean said before he reminded his Dad of his and Sam's preferred orders. "Oh, um, Dad, before I let you go…"

"Yeah, Dean?" John asked.

"Not sure what it means," Dean said. "But an owl is sitting on the windowsill outside of our room, tapping its beak on the glass. It has a letter addressed to me tied to its leg."

John was silent for a long minute, before he said, "Right. Leave it where it is for now. We'll deal with it when I get back."

"Okay, Dad, see you soon then," Dean said before he hung up.

Letting Sam go, Dean said, "Dad says to leave the owl where it is for now. He'll be back in about twenty minutes, he's just gonna get us McDonald's."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Funny enough I figured that out when you told him to get me a happy meal."

Patting Sam on the head as if he was a dog, Dean said, "Just sit down and read your book, squirt. We'll wait for Dad."

Sam shoved Dean's hand away and grumbled slightly, but did as he was told. The insistent tapping on the glass was kind of distracting, but he did his best to put it out of his mind, as Dean put his headphones back on.

Although this time, Sam noted that Dean only put the left one over his ear, leaving the right one behind it so that he presumably would be able to hear the Impala when it pulled into the parking spot outside their room. Metallica was soon blasting through the headphones once again.

About twenty-five minutes later, Dean turned his music off and both boys moved over to the window as they heard the unmistakable sounds of the Impala. Looking out the window, they watched as John got out of the car, leaving the bag of food and a drink holder with three drinks on the hood.

Approaching the owl from behind, the owl just kept tapping its beak against the glass. Pulling a small glass vial from inside his vest, John opened it and dumped the contents—which Dean and Sam knew was holy water—over the owl's head. It turned its head to look at John and gave a somewhat disgruntled sounding hoot before it shook out its feathers to dry.

Since the owl passed the holy water test, John figured it must be safe, so he went back to the car, got the food and drinks, and then went to the door of the motel room and opened it. Seeing its chance to make its delivery, the owl spread its wings and flew through the now open door, landing on the small table under the window where the two boys were.

Dean and Sam stood there frozen, not sure what to do, as John walked into the room, careful not to disturb the arc of salt that was placed in front of the door in such a way that opening it wouldn't disturb it. Stepping over the salt line and closing the door, John said, "It's safe, Dean. Take your letter."

Both boys were confused when their father looked directly at the owl and said, "You can wait for a reply, I assume?"

Dean and Sam were even more confused when the owl seemed to understand what John said and nodded its head up and down as if to say yes to John's question.

Seeing Dean's hesitance, John said, "Go ahead, Dean. As I said it's safe and honestly I was rather expecting you to get such a letter this summer."

Raising an eyebrow, Dean looked first at John, then at Sam, and the shrugged, as he untied the letter from the owl's leg and looked at it for a moment. He raised his eyes when his dad held out a small silver knife. Taking it, Dean slit the envelope open and handed back the knife, before taking two sheets of paper out of it.

"What's it say? Who's it from?" Sam asked. "Who the hell uses owls to deliver mail?"

"Might as well read it aloud, Dean," John said. "It'll probably help answer Sammy's questions."

Dean nodded as he unfolded the two sheets of paper and looked down at the top sheet. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw the first line and looked up at his father, who just nodded his head.

Looking back down, Dean read aloud.

_**ILVERMORNY SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**_

_**Headmistress: Seraphina Picquery**_

_**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Archsorceress, Former President, MACUSA, Delegate, International Confed. of Wizards)**_

_**Dr. Mr. Winchester,**_

_**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment, as well as contact information should you require a guide to where you can buy said books and equipment, or if you require financial assistance to purchase your supplies and/or pay your tuition.**_

_**Your first term begins on September 1, 1990. We await your reply owl by no later than July 31, 1990.**_

_**Cordially yours,**_

_**Percival Graves**_

_**Deputy Headmaster**_

"Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Dean asked. "What?"

"Calm down, Dean," John said. "This type of magic is not evil. I know we've hunted witches before, but those were witches who had gotten their power from demons. Ilvermorny does not teach those people. They only teach people who are born with magic."

After a moment of silence, John said, "People like your mother and you, it would seem."

"Mom was a witch?" Sam asked, eyes wide.

"Yes," John said. "The entire Campbell family was, in fact. They're not one of America's twelve original magical families, but pretty close to it. For those who are born with magic, only women are called witches. Men are called wizards, or sometimes warlocks. You can see the difference I'm sure, as everyone who gets magic from a demon deal, regardless of their gender, is called a witch."

Dean and Sam nodded, before Dean said, "So you're saying that I'm a wizard and that I was born with magic?"

John nodded. "Yes, Dean. You wouldn't be invited to attend Ilvermorny if you didn't have magic. Don't worry, I'm not upset. I've known for years now, ever since your mother and I got married, that she was a witch and that our children were likely to have magic as well. So, I've had over a decade to digest and accept it."

"How can I have magic and not know about it?" Dean asked, obviously confused.

John smiled. "Before age eleven, magic tends to be more wild and uncontrolled. It needs time to settle, which is why all the magical schools in the world wait until students have turned eleven to invite them to attend."

"All of the magical schools in the world?" Sam asked, eye wide. "There's more than one?"

"Yes, Sam there's twelve of them in all," John answered. "They all serve different parts of the world. There's two that serve the North American continent. Ilvermorny in Mt. Greylock, Massachusetts and Maliton on Vancouver, Canada."

"How is it decided who goes where?" Sam asked.

"From what Mary told me," John answered, "all students born east of the Mississippi River go to Ilvermorny, while students born to the west of the Rio Grande attend Maliton. As for the area between that, the two schools work it out somehow with magic. I don't fully understand it myself. Though your grandfather Samuel told me once that both schools do legacy admissions. So, if a student born in the area east of the Rio Grande and west of the Mississippi has parents that attended Ilvermorny, they get signed up for Ilvermorny."

"I take it Mom went to Ilvermorny?" Dean asked as he imagined a map of the United States in his head. Geography was one school subject he'd always excelled at if only because of the frequent road trips all across the country that he'd been taking with his Dad and Sam since he was four. He knew that Kansas was in the area between the two mentioned rivers.

"Yes, the Campbells have been attending Ilvermorny since back before the Revolutionary War," John said. "Your mother was a Pukwudgie."

"A puck-what?" Dean asked.

"Pukwudgie," John said, with a smile, as he'd said exactly the same thing to Mary years ago when she'd first told him. "It's a magical creature that appears in some North American native folklore, particularly among the Wampanoag people. It's a small human-shaped creature, about two to three feet tall, but with a larger nose, ears, and fingers. It apparently also has smooth, gray skin that sometimes glows."

"I've seen pictures of Mom and that doesn't sound anything like her," Sam said.

John laughed. "True, Sammy," as he began handing out their food so that they could eat it while it was still hot. "Ilvermorny is a boarding school, which means you live there during the school year. So, they have four dormitories called houses, which are named after magical creatures: Pukwudgie, Horned Serpent, Wampus, and Thunderbird."

Nobody said anything for a moment, as Dean nodded somewhat absentmindedly as he lifted a French fry to his mouth. Before he could eat it, however, the owl flew over and grabbed it out of his hand.

"Hey! That's mine!" Dean protested.

"You can have a couple of mine, Dean," John said. "If that owl flew all the way here from Massachusetts, it's probably a bit tired and hungry, so you can't really blame it for wanting something to eat or drink."

As he said this, he tore off the top of the box that his Big Mac came in and put a couple more fries in it and set it on the table, before going into the bathroom and took the wrapped bar of hand soap out of the small bowl next to the sink and filled it with water for the owl. It hooted in appreciation as John returned and set it on the table.

Nothing else was said for a few minutes, as the three Winchesters and the owl ate their food. When he was finished, Sam saw that the owl had emptied the small bowl, so he took it back to the bathroom and refilled it. Since the owl immediately started drinking again, Sam assumed that it was appreciated.

"Anyway, Dean, to expand a little on your earlier question," John said, "has anything strange ever happened to or around you that you couldn't explain? I'm not talking about anything related to the things we hunt or your mom's death. I mean other things, like when I'm not around and you're alone with Sam."

Dean cocked his head to one side, as he said, "Well, now that you mention it, there were a few times when Sam was much younger that I wished the smell coming from the bag of his dirty diapers would go away and it did."

"Dean," Sam whined, not liking that particular subject to be discussed.

John smiled. "You were probably unknowingly responsible, Dean. You likely used accidental magic to vanish Sam's dirty diapers and thus the smell."

"Come to think of it, I seem to remember sometimes finding the bag empty," Dean said, after a moment. "I thought I must have emptied it and forgot."

"Can we please talk about something else?" Sam asked. "Really anything else? Just not that!"

John laughed, as he reached over and messed up Sam's hair before he opened the bedside drawer and grabbed a pen with the motel's name on it, and some of the complimentary stationery and envelopes inside it.

Looking over at Dean, he asked, "I assume you want to go?"

Seeing this as his chance to get away from babysitting Sam for a while, Dean nodded. "Yes."

John nodded, as he penned a quick note.

_**Dear Mr. Graves,**_

_**My son, Dean Winchester, accepts his invitation to attend Ilvermorny. As you can see from the stationary, we're currently in Wyoming, but will be heading back to the east coast in the morning. My late wife told me of a magical shopping district in New York City that I assume has everything he'll need so we'll head there. Driving from Wyoming, we should be there in a few days.**_

_**As a No-Maj myself, a guide to take Dean shopping would be much appreciated. Financial assistance isn't required, however, as my wife's late parents setup trust vaults for both my sons to use for their magical educations, as they assumed they'd both turn out to be wizards.**_

_**Sincerely,**_

_**John Winchester**_

Folding up the letter, John put it in an envelope which he addressed as:

_**Dep. Head Graves**_

_**Ilvermorny School**_

_**Mt. Greylock, MA**_

Sealing the envelope, he turned to look at the owl and asked, "Are you ready for the return trip or would you like some more time to rest?"

The owl answered John's question by picking up the string in its beak that had tied Dean's acceptance letter to its leg and flying over to John, holding out its leg.

"I take it that means you're ready to fly?"

The owl bobbed its head up and down, so John secured the letter to the owl's leg and then walked over and opened the door, closing it after the owl flew out.

-o-0-o-

The Winchesters arrived in New York City a little over a week later. If he'd driven straight through, John knew that he could probably have arrived sooner, but with two young kids with him, he figured a bit more leisurely pace was in order and thus stopping to take in the sights along the way.

One of those stops saw them spending a day in Gurnee, Illinois, where John took them to Six Flags Great America, as he figured the boys would like that. Which they did and Sam was now carrying around a stuffed Bugs Bunny plush that John won for him playing Skee-Ball.

Through a couple of owl exchanges, a meeting was set up for the thirtieth of June, with Percival saying that he'd send one of the professors and a newly graduated student to meet them in Central Park to take them shopping on Pegasus Street, which was the main magical shopping district in New York City. The entrance was about a block and a half away from Central Park, so it was a convenient place to use as a recognizable landmark meeting place.

Finding the place in the park that they were told to wait, John, Dean, and Sam didn't have to wait long before an African-American woman in her early-to-mid forties and a white, black-haired teenage boy approached them. Knowing that John was a hunter, Percival had sent a picture of the people he was sending and said they'd happily drink a vial of holy water if it would set his mind at ease.

"John, Dean, and Sam Winchester?" the woman asked. "Professor Graves sent us. I'm Professor Sheila Bennett and this is Rafael McCall."

John nodded but didn't respond verbally, just reaching into his pocket and pulling out two small glass vials which he held out to the pair. Having been warned ahead of time, they just took a vial each and downed them.

When they didn't burst into flames or show any distress from drinking the blessed water, John said, "I'm John Winchester and these are my sons, Dean and Sam."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Sheila said, as Rafael nodded. "Shall we get going? Our destination is about a block and a half away. So not far."

John nodded before he and his sons followed the pair, who led them into a more thickly wooded area of the park where there were very few people around. Pulling out a wand from her left sleeve, Sheila said, "I'll need to cast a spell on you, Mr. Winchester. Both Dean and Sam are wizards, but since you're a No-Maj, you won't be able to see our destination unless I cast a spell on you that overrides the protections that hides it from No-Maj view."

"Very well," John said, as he'd also been warned of this in the letter from Percival.

As Sheila cast the spell on John, Sam, in an awed tone, asked, "I'm a wizard too?"

Rafael, who had graduated from Ilvermorny towards the end of the first week of June, knelt down to Sam's level and nodded. "Yeah, Sam, you are. You see there's a book at Ilvermorny which records the names of all magical children born in the section of the US that we serve, or legacies who had at least one parent attend. It's automatic, so as soon as you were born your name went down in the book as a future student. Professor Graves checked it and your name is down for the incoming class of 1994."

"Cool," Sam said.

"Yeah, it is quite cool," Rafael agreed, as he stood back up, as Sheila put her wand away.

They were soon making their way out of the park and traveling the block and a half away to their destination, which turned out to be an old building nestled between a pair of brownstones that really stood out in modern-day New York City, as it looked like it was built in the 1600s.

"The Laughing Unicorn Inn?" Dean asked.

"Yes, we can talk more freely once we're inside," Sheila said before they made their way across the street and through the door of the ancient-looking establishment, which was completely hidden from the view of anyone who didn't have magic.

Of course, being that this was America, where such things happened way more than they did in Europe, there were also charms to prevent those with fake magic—that is the so-called magic granted by demons—from seeing it.

Walking inside, all three Winchesters felt like they'd stepped backward in time, although to be fair, the interior of the establishment didn't look as old as the exterior. There was a more 1920s art deco vibe than the seventeenth-century exterior would have suggested.

Motioning towards a corner table, the group sat down, as the arrangements that John had made with Percival called for them to eat lunch before going shopping. With the guides being able to answer any questions the Winchesters had while eating.

One of the servers came over with a tray of glasses with ice water, which he passed out, before giving them menus to peruse. He returned five minutes later to take their drink and food orders, along with the menus.

As they were waiting for their food, Dean reached into the inner pocket of the denim jacket he was wearing and removed the supply list from within.

_**ILVERMORNY SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**_

_**UNIFORM**_

_**First-year students will require:**_

_**3 pairs of light brown cotton trousers (khaki or similar).**_

_**3 plain long-sleeved button-down shirts w/ collars (white).**_

_**3 black waistcoats (i.e. vests).**_

_**3 pairs of plain work robes (blue w/ cranberry red trim).**_

_**2 pairs of plain, black shoes for day wear (leather or similar).**_

_**1 plain pointed hat (blue w/ cranberry red trim) for day wear.**_

_**1 pair of protective shoes (dragon hide or similar).**_

_**1 pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar).**_

_**2 pairs of blue pants or shorts (sweats or similar) for gym wear.**_

_**2 plain white t-shirts for gym wear.**_

_**1 pair of sneakers (in white or black) for gym wear.**_

_**1 winter cloak (blue w/ cranberry red trim and silver Gordian Knot fastenings)**_

_**Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.**_

_**COURSE BOOKS**_

_**All students should have a copy of each of the following:**_

_**Chadwick's Charms (Volume 1) by Chadwick Boot**_

_**Introduction to Magical History by Isolt Sayre**_

_**Basics of Magical Theory by Margaret Campbell**_

_**The Basics of Transfiguration by Herbert Fischer**_

_**Essential Guide to Magical Plants and Fungi by Caroline Roche**_

_**Potions: An Introduction by Sheila Bennett**_

_**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander**_

_**Basics of Dark Arts Defense by Gondolphus Graves**_

_**Intro to Wizarding Society & Culture by Thomas Wilkinson**_

_**Guidebook to Wizarding Careers by Rosanna Grimsditch**_

_**OTHER EQUIPMENT**_

_**1 wand**_

_**1 wand holster (student's choice of spring-loaded wand arm or manual off-arm)**_

_**1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)**_

_**1 basic potions kit (cutting knife, mortar/pestle, etc.)**_

_**1 first-year's standardized potions ingredients kit**_

_**1 apron for Potions/Herbology**_

_**1 set glass or crystal vials**_

_**1 telescope**_

_**1 set brass scales**_

_**1 Everfull fountain pen w/ anti-loss and theft protection charms**_

_**14 standard notebooks (2 for each class)**_

_**1 package of 500 sheets loose-leaf paper**_

_**1 over-the-shoulder bag (messenger bag or similar) for carrying books and supplies between classes**_

_**1 standard student's trunk for supply transport/storage**_

_**Students may also bring if they desire, a pet, limited to one of the following: an owl, a cat, a toad, a small dog (weighing under 22lbs/less than 16 inches tall), small non-venomous snake, or other small to a medium-sized bird (finch, canary, parakeet, etc.).**_

_**All owls will be kept in the school Owlery. All other pets must have a cage or carrier where they can be kept during class time.**_

_**Parents are reminded that no first-year student is allowed their own broomstick.**_

_**Yours Sincerely,**_

_**Agilbert Fontaine**_

_**Chief Attendant of Wizarding Provisions**_

"So I can get all of this stuff on this Pegasus Street?" Dean asked as he looked up from the supply list.

Nodding, Rafael said, "Yup, as long as you've got the coin, the shopkeepers will be more than willing to assist you."

Dean nodded. "Dad said my grandparents set up education trust vaults for me and Sam, so I guess we'll have to visit the bank first."

"Gringotts' Wizarding Bank will be more than happy to assist you on that," Sheila said. "Of course, I should warn you, the bank is staffed by goblins. No sentient race is better at managing, making, or protecting money, but they very much dislike having their time wasted. So, be direct, say exactly why you're there and what you want and do not under any circumstances try to engage them in small talk."

"Time is money is an adage that definitely applies to goblins," Rafael added. "Waste their time and they'll make their displeasure known by making sure you do not get good returns on your investments or by charging you higher transaction fees."

Looking down at the supply list in Dean's hands, Sam asked, "Are you the author of Potions: An Introduction?"

Sheila smiled and nodded. "Yes, Sam, I am. Also, if you weren't aware, Margaret Campbell, the author of Basics of Magical Theory, was your late mother's paternal grandmother."

Sam grinned and said, "Cool!"

John and Dean were a bit more subdued in their enthusiasm, but one could still see that they were impressed by the fact that Mary's grandmother had written one of the textbooks used by the school.

The waiter arrived with their food and drinks at the point, so everyone tucked in to eat. Questions about the wizarding world and magic, in general, were exchanged over lunch before they headed out to the back door of the establishment to an alley which opened up onto a large art deco styled shopping district with all kinds of interesting looking stores lining both sides of the wide tree-lined street.

-o-0-o-

_**1 July 1991…**_

Hadrian and Darius were all smiles as they looked down at the letters in their hands. They'd finally come. Their Hogwarts letters. They were finally going to magic school. Which meant they'd finally be allowed to go to Diagon Alley and buy real wands. They were both ecstatic beyond words.

Sirius grinned. "Well are you just going to stare at them are you going to open them?"

Hadrian and Darius grinned, before they flipped the envelopes over, broke the seals, and removed the sheaves of parchment within.

Looking down at his letter, Hadrian read:

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**_

_**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**_

_**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**_

_**Dear HRH Electoral Prince Hadrian:**_

_**We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment, in addition to a letter from the Headmaster in regards to your status in Albion and Iwernia.**_

_**Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Minerva McGonagall**_

_**Deputy Headmistress**_

Looking over at Darius's letter, Hadrian immediately noticed that his was addressed simply as Dear Mr. Dursley, and didn't include the line about a letter from the Headmaster.

Setting aside the letter from Professor McGonagall, Hadrian soon found that the next sheaf of parchment was the aforementioned letter from the Headmaster, which was on the same school letterhead that McGonagall's letter had been on.

_**Dear HRH Electoral Prince Hadrian:**_

_**Greetings and I do hope this letter finds you in excellent health. I'm writing to you because you will be the sitting Grand Duke of Cambria before the school term begins and I wanted to make you aware of both the provisions which have been made for you due to that status, as well as what the Hogwarts bylaws say on the subject of sitting lords.**_

_**First of all, as you will be considered to be a legal adult upon the completion of your Ritual of Claiming, you will be allowed to join the third-year and older students on all scheduled Hogsmeade trips throughout the school year. You will also be exempt from the normal rule which forbids first-years to possess their own broomstick, so you may ignore that line on the supply list, as it does not apply to you.**_

_**Furthermore, while you will have a bed in the first-year boy's dormitory of whichever school house the Sorting Hat places you in, please be aware that you will be provided with a private study that has been equipped with the very latest in secrecy and privacy charms and a secure Floo connection so that you can conduct any family or state business which is required of you during your time at Hogwarts.**_

_**You alone will be able to control who has access to your study, although, for safety purposes, your Head of House and the Matron of Hogwarts will be able to override that control in the event of any medical or school emergency which requires that they have access.**_

_**Now on the matter of the Hogwarts bylaws, laid down by the Founders of Hogwarts themselves, please be aware that while you are a student at Hogwarts, every effort will be made to accommodate your role in the governance of both Cambria and Albion and Iwernia as a whole. Please note, however, that while inside the classroom, during school hours, and during any school-sponsored event you are still a student.**_

_**What this means is that your position does not give you the right to override directives from your professors in regards to your education at Hogwarts. Nor does it exempt you from any point deductions, detentions, or other punishments which they believe your performance and/or behavior warrant.**_

_**While he did not live to see the founding of Hogwarts, the sainted King Arthur I Pendragon did foresee the founding of our great school. Thus the bylaws pertaining to sitting lords, while written by the Founders, are based entirely upon the words of Albion and Iwernia's last non-elected, hereditary absolute monarch and are still magically and legally in force to this day.**_

_**I very much look forward to your attendance.**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Albus Dumbledore**_

_**Headmaster of Hogwarts**_

"So much for using your position to get out of trouble," Darius said, as he read the letter from the Headmaster over Hadrian's shoulder.

"Not that you were thinking of doing that, Darius," Petunia said, with a warning edge to her voice. "Were you?"

"No, Mum, of course not!" Darius quickly said.

Petunia shook her head, not entirely sure she believed him, but didn't see a point in arguing the point any further. She knew the rules quite well and she trusted that Hadrian and Darius would follow them.

"Well, go ahead and peruse your supply lists so that we know what to buy when we go to Diagon Alley," Vernon said, prompting both boys to look at their supply lists, which was the second page for Darius and third for Hadrian.

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**_

_**UNIFORM**_

_**First-year students will require:**_

_**Three pairs of cotton or linen trousers (black), three kilts (red and black tartan), or any combination thereof.**_

_**Three plain long-sleeved dress shirts (white).**_

_**Three plain waistcoats (grey).**_

_**Three plain blazers (black).**_

_**Three pairs of plain work robes (black).**_

_**One plain pointed hat (black).**_

_**Two pairs of plain shoes (leather or similar, black).**_

_**One pair of protective shoes or boots (dragon hide or similar).**_

_**One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar).**_

_**One protective apron (dragon hide or similar).**_

_**Two pairs of pants or shorts (sweats or similar, black) for gym wear.**_

_**Two pairs of plain t-shirts (white) for gym wear.**_

_**One pair of trainers (white or black) for gym wear.**_

_**One winter cloak (black w/ silver fastenings).**_

_**Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.**_

_**COURSE BOOKS**_

_**All students should have a copy of each of the following:**_

_**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk**_

_**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot**_

_**Magical Theory of Adalbert Waffling**_

_**A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch**_

_**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore**_

_**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger**_

_**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander**_

_**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble**_

_**Curses and Counter-Curses by Vindictus Viridian**_

_**Essential English Grammar by Beatrice Carter**_

_**Garner's Guide to Geography by Edgar Garner**_

_**Fundamentals of Latin Grammar by Emily Burgess**_

_**A Lexicon of Latin Vocabulary by Sophia Harrison**_

_**Maths: A Primer by Malcolm Wellard**_

_**A Comprehensive Guide to Mundane British History by Eliza Covington**_

_**Daily Life in the Muggle World by Walter Spray**_

_**OTHER EQUIPMENT**_

_**One wand**_

_**One wand holster (student's choice of spring-loaded wand arm or manual off-arm)**_

_**One cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)**_

_**One basic potions kit (cutting knife, mortar/pestle, etc.)**_

_**One first-year's standardized potions ingredients kit**_

_**One ruler**_

_**One abacus**_

_**One set glass or crystal phials**_

_**One telescope**_

_**One set brass scales**_

_**One Everfull feather quill pen w/ anti-loss and theft protection charms**_

_**Twenty-six standard notebooks (2 for each class, minus Flying and Physical Education)**_

_**One package of 500 sheaves of parchment paper**_

_**One package of 250 sheets of scrap paper (for Maths)**_

_**One over-the-shoulder bag (messenger bag or similar) for carrying books and supplies between classes**_

_**One standard student's trunk for supply transport/storage**_

_**Students may also bring if they desire, a pet, limited to one of the following: an owl, a cat, a toad, a small dog (weighing under 22lbs/less than 16 inches tall), a rat, or other small to a medium-sized bird (finch, canary, parakeet, etc.).**_

_**All owls will be kept in the school Owlery. All other pets must have a cage or carrier where they can be kept during class time.**_

_**Parents are reminded that no first-year student is allowed their own broomstick.**_

_**Yours Sincerely,**_

_**Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus**_

_**Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions**_

"Daily Life in the Muggle World?" Darius asked.

"That's the textbook for first-year Muggle Studies," Remus said. "It's been a required class for all wizarding-raised first and second-year students at Hogwarts since Dumbledore became headmaster in 1965. Conversely, the muggle-raised are required to take two years of Wizard Studies."

"Both classes cease to be compulsory after second-year," Sirius said. "Although you still have the option of continuing them as an elective."

"Do Darius and I really need it though?" Hadrian asked. "I mean, yes, we were wizard-raised, but we were raised by wizards and a muggle in the muggle world."

"Hmm, yes, that's true," Petunia said. "I believe there is an option for students to test out of the class. When we send your reply owls accepting your places at the school, we'll just have to ask that you be allowed to take the test."

"Hermione, Piers, Kevin, and Wayne could probably test out too," Darius said. "Hermione, Piers, and Kevin are muggleborns, but they've been taking wizarding classes with Hadrian and me for years now. So has Wayne for that matter, plus he's a halfblood son of a witch mother and muggle father."

"Yes, you're probably right," Sirius said. "The compulsory versions of Muggle and Wizard Studies are basically introductory primers to the muggle world or the wizarding world. I doubt there's much the class could teach any of you that you don't already know."

Remus nodded. "Indeed. Whether it be from living in the muggle world or having wizarding friends and classes, taught by no less than Dukes and Duchesses of Pleinmont and Charlton themselves, there probably isn't much that the basics class could teach any of you."

"Can we call them and let them know?" Darius said. "So that they know it's an option before they send their reply letters?"

Petunia nodded. "Yes, go ahead, although I'd call Hermione, Piers, and Kevin first, as Wayne may well already know of the option through his mother."

Standing up, Remus said, "You can come next door and use our phone, Hadrian. That way you and Darius can speed things up a bit by being able to make two calls at once."

Hadrian nodded as he said he'd call Hermione and Kevin, before he and Remus headed out the kitchen door and cut through the backyard to Number 5, even as Darius picked up the phone and started dialing Piers, saving Wayne for last.

-o-0-o-

Two weeks later, Hadrian, Darius, and Wayne were seated around the large table in the Leaky Cauldron's banquet room as Professor Kenneth Warren—the professor for the compulsory version of Muggle Studies for first and second-year students—proctored the exam to see if they knew enough to be released from the requirement to take the class.

Also present was Professor Martha Mills, who taught the compulsory version of Wizard Studies, as she proctored the test for her class to Hermione, Piers, and Kevin.

All six of them finished their respective tests about twenty minutes ahead of the scheduled time. Hermione spent another ten minutes double-checking her answers, but she finally turned her test paper over, confident that she'd passed.

The two professors told them to go do their school shopping on Diagon Alley and by the time they finished and came back, they'd have their tests graded.

-o-0-o-

The following morning, Hadrian, who'd been too tired after the trip to Diagon Alley to do much of anything, including writing to Micheil and Finlay, moved on his bed so that he was lying on his stomach, his feet up in the air, and his chin resting on the palm of his offhand as he opened his journal with his right hand.

A combination of Darius's bought with first measles and then Dragon Pox—although he'd been at the pediatric ward at St. Mungo's for the latter—and Hadrian's status as a prince had led his aunt and uncle to decide that Hadrian should have his own bedroom. This had led to him moving into what been intended to be the guest bedroom that Vernon's sister Marge would have used.

Of course, since Vernon had pretty much cut Marge out of his life at this point, she never visited, so the room was pretty much always empty, as the Dursleys didn't have overnight guests very often. Or at least not with enough regularity that it made sense to have a dedicated guest bedroom.

Opening the journal to a clean page, Hadrian began writing.

_**Hey guys. So I went to Diagon Alley yesterday. I was just way too tired after all the shopping to write last night. Got all my school supplies now though. Oh and I've successfully managed to test out of having to take Muggle Studies. So that's cool, that I'll have a bit more free time.**_

It took a few minutes for a response to come, but when it did, it read:

_**That's cool. Mic and Fin will be with you in a couple minutes, they just had to go to the bathroom. – Kaid**_

That was another development that had happened over the last year, which Hadrian was both happy about and yet at the same time, he found himself feeling a bit jealous. Micheil and Finlay, who'd be turning sixteen in October, had started dating.

Kaid was Kaidan Shacklebolt and he was Finlay's boyfriend. Micheil, meanwhile, was dating Karter Shacklebolt. Hadrian hadn't met them in person, although they'd been occasionally writing in the journal, especially if Hadrian asked Micheil and Finlay a question that they didn't know the answer to, Kaidan or Karter did.

Since they hadn't met, the only things that Hadrian really knew about Kaidan and Karter were that they were currently fourteen—but would be turning fifteen on the last day of August this year—that they were Gryffindor at Hogwarts, and that they were conjoined twins who were joined in the same way as Micheil and Finlay.

Well, and that they were Shacklebolts. They were the grandsons of Lord Aurelius Shacklebolt's son and heir, Kingsley. Which technically made them Hadrian's vassals, since Aurelius was a baronet and the hereditary Lord-Mayor of Ottery St. Catchpole, which was the oldest settlement in Cambria.

_**Cool. So how are you two this morning?**_

Despite any lingering feelings of jealousy, he did want Micheil and Finlay to be happy and Kaidan and Karter definitely seemed to make them happy, so Hadrian was making an effort to be a good friend and be supportive of the relationships. Which included being civil to Kaidan and Karter until they gave him a reason not to be. Although considering who Hadrian was to their family, it was not likely that they would ever do so.

_**We're good. – Kaid**_

_**Spent the night at DCP with Mic and Fin. – Kart**_

_**We were helping them celebrate last night and it got late, so their parents let us spend the night. – Kaid**_

_**What were you celebrating?**_

_**We'll let them tell you. They just got out of the bathroom and are coming back over to the bed. – Kart**_

_**Morning Hadrian – F**_

_**Suppose you want our news? – M**_

_**Yes!**_

_**We made prefect. Well, technically Finlay did, as there's usually only one boy and one girl from each year between five and seven. – M**_

_**There was a note from Flitwick congratulating us, though, and said that because of our closeness, that the rules were bent slightly, and that Micheil should consider himself a prefect too since he doesn't really have much of a choice but to do all the prefect duties with me. – F**_

_**Yeah, I suppose that much is true. It would be pretty hard for you to do your prefect duties, Fin, if Mic was lounging in Ravenclaw Tower.**_

_**Definitely. Anyway, it's cool that you don't have to take MS. Not that I'm surprised since you live in the muggle world and your aunt's husband is a muggle. – F**_

_**So did you get your dress robes? – M**_

_**Mr. Twillfit is making them. I got all my school clothes yesterday, but the dress robes are a bit more complicated to make. I'll have to go back for a final fitting, but he said they'll be in plenty of time for the 25**__**th**__**.**_

Hadrian would be celebrating his eleventh birthday this year, which was a milestone since it would mean that he'd be doing the Ritual of Claiming and officially becoming Lord Potter and Grand Duke of Cambria. Of course, like the Ritual of Confirmation, tradition held that it be done on the first full moon after his birthday.

Since the full moon in July was on the twenty-sixth, before Hadrian's birthday, his Claiming was officially scheduled for 25 August 1991.

_**You excited? – F**_

_**It depends on the day of the week it seems. It changes. One day I'm excited, the next I'm nervous… there are even some days that I'm terrified if I'm being honest.**_

_**That's probably to be expected. I mean it's not every day that somebody does a magical ritual that makes them one of the seven most powerful people in the country. – M**_

_**And more powerful than the king of said country. – Kaid**_

_**Very true. I mean, while I hope you wouldn't do it, you and the other Grand Dukes do actually have the right and ability to remove our Dad from the throne before his tenure is up. – F**_

_**You don't have to worry about that. Your Dad has been nothing but kind to me and he's certainly never given me any reason to even consider voting to remove him from the throne. I mean I can't tell the future, but my past experience with him would make me think it highly unlikely for him to do anything that warranted it.**_

_**Thanks, Hadrian. – M**_

_**Yeah, thanks, you rock. – F**_

Hadrian giggled at that before he resumed writing.

_**You guys always know how to cheer me up. Anyway, despite my nerves, I am looking forward to my Claiming, if only because it'll be at DCP and I'll finally be able to meet Kaidan and Karter.**_

Hadrian had learned about a month ago that his Ritual of Claiming would actually be taking place in the ritual chamber at Dragon's Court Palace. Of course, as it turned out, the venue wasn't because Seacliff Castle was on ward lockdown, which had been the reason why Hadrian's Ritual of Confirmation had been held at the Longbottom's Lakeview Castle.

It was actually a tradition going back to the very first Grand Dukes after King Arthur's death, that each Grand Duke would have their Ritual of Claiming at Dragon's Court Palace, followed by a grand Claiming Ball. It was for that reason that Hadrian was having dress robes made because much like his Confirmation, he didn't need dress robes for the Claiming itself.

_**We're looking forward to meeting you too. – Kart**_

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

So here's Ch7 of 'The Seventh Olympian.' I had originally planned to have this chapter end with Hadrian at Hogwarts, but I had the idea of having the appearance by the Winchesters (and Sheila and Rafael) and then I just didn't think that everything I still wanted to cover with Hadrian in the run-up to first-year would fit while keeping the chapter at a reasonable length.

I know some of my other stories I have written chapters that are more than twenty-five thousand words, and I think one that was even a bit over thirty-thousand, but I'm trying to avoid that these days, as it just seems a little too long. Anyway, the next chapter should end with Hadrian at Hogwarts. There'll be surprises coming for him both before and after he starts school, so stay tuned.


	9. Chapter 8

The Seventh Olympian

Written By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Eight

-o-0-o-

_**12 August 1991…**_

Eleven-year-old Neville Longbottom wanted to scream. His grandmother Augusta was insistent that his parents, Frank and Alice, were going to wake up any day now, despite all evidence to the contrary. Walking across the grounds of the Lakeview Castle Estate from where he'd had one of the house-elves take him, Neville found himself approaching one of the estates outbuildings.

In addition to the main castle, there were five other houses on the ten-thousand-acre estate. The two oldest were Undergrove House and Aldersey Hall.

The latter was the dower house where Augusta had been in the process of moving to when Frank and Alice were attacked. Augusta's husband, Harold Longbottom, had died two months earlier and she continued to live in the main castle while some repairs and redecorating were done at Undergrove. With Frank and Alice in St. Mungo's, Augusta stayed on at the castle to raise Neville, leaving Undergrove empty.

Aldersey Hall was also empty, as it was reserved for the adult heir to the Grand Duchy. If Frank had never been attacked, its where Neville would have moved to upon reaching his majority so that he'd have his own household to raise his family in.

The other three houses on the estate where Whitland House, Northfork Manor, and Lakeside Abbey. Neville's great-grandaunt Callidora lived at Whitland, while Algernon and Cordelia called Northfork home. Their son Warrick and his sons, Jasper and Jesse, lived at Lakeside.

It was Lakeside that Neville was approaching, as he'd wanted to get as far away from his grandmother as he could and thus had the house-elf take him to the farthest shore of the lake that both Lakeview Castle and Lakeside Abbey were named for.

Once the house-elf left him, Neville looked around and not seeing anyone else around, he gave in to his frustration and screamed.

"Everything okay, Nev?" Jasper asked as he and Jesse stood up from where they'd been sitting behind a nearby tree, which had blocked Neville's view of them.

Turning to look at his third cousins, Neville raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why are you dressed like that?"

Jesse groaned. "We lost a bet with the Weasley twins."

Jasper nodded. "So, Neall and Niall let us borrow some clothes and we have to dress like this until school starts."

Seeing that Neville was about to ask something, Jesse added, "And yes, Fred and George used a monitoring spell, so they'll know if we don't and the punishment is even worse."

"Knowing the twins, I don't even want to know," Neville said. He hadn't really had many interactions with the Weasley twins, but he knew them by reputation and through various noble balls and gatherings.

"So what's up, Nev?" Jasper asked, as he and Jesse made their way over to where Neville was standing and wrapped their cousin in a comforting hug, as he definitely looked like he needed one.

Neville sighed. "I had a fight with grandmother. She's just so… obstinate."

"Ah, I see," Jesse said. "Let me guess, you finally had enough and confronted her about her delusions where your parents are concerned."

"Yeah, I did," Neville said. "She accused me of not caring about them, which is totally untrue. I love them, I really do, but that's precisely why I think we need to let them go. It'll be nine years and eight months in less than a week since they were tortured, and there hasn't been any improvement."

"And yet if you listen to Augusta," Jasper said, as the three of them sat down, "they're going to wake up any day now. Something she's been saying more and more frequently ever since the Prewett twins woke up."

"Yes, which makes no sense whatsoever," Neville said. "I mean Gideon and Fabian at least had several instances where they appeared to be coming out of it before they actually did. Mum and Dad have never given the appearance of getting better even once."

Shaking his head and letting out a frustrated sigh, Neville said, "All the healers have made it clear that Mum and Dad are not going to recover from their injuries, but does Grandmother listen? No, she insists despite all evidence to the contrary that they're going to wake up any day now. And yet, despite that, she's insisting that I use Dad's wand instead of getting my own."

"Yeah, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense," Jesse agreed. "I mean if what she believes is true—and we've all accepted that it isn't—then surely cousin Frank would need his wand when he wakes up, which would be rather hard if you're using it."

Nodding Jasper said, "I'm amazed, honestly, that Grandmother would think that you should use Frank's wand instead of getting one of your own. I mean, she's Garrick Ollivander's sister."

"Yes," Jesse agreed. "You'd think coming from one of the pre-eminent wandmaking families that she'd know that many wands bond to their first owners and don't work anywhere near as well for a second owner, especially when the first owner is still breathing."

Neville sighed. "She couldn't understand why I've given up. Kept saying that Gideon and Fabian recovered and so will my parents. She absolutely refuses to let them go, no matter what anyone says. I suppose there's not much I can do."

"You can do more than you think," a new voice said, as Neville looked up and saw Jasper and Jesse's father Warrick standing there. "Come, Neville, I think it's time we had a talk."

-o-0-o-

_**25 August 1991…**_

"I wish you could come, Aunt Petunia."

Petunia smiled. "So do I, Hadrian. Normally, I wouldn't miss your Claiming for anything," she sighed, "but my healer was very clear when she put me on strict bed rest."

Hadrian nodded, even as Vernon smiled and said, "At least Sirius and Remus will be able to be there this time."

That much was true, as, after the meeting with Talia and Ellen Hale back in 1988, Remus had stopped taking the Wolfsbane Potions and learned how to use an anchor: his love for his family. Of course, back in 1988 that pretty much only included Sirius and Hadrian. Darius, Petunia, Vernon, Sirius's grandparents were all friends but Remus didn't see them as family in quite the same way.

His family had expanded since 1988, however, as he and Sirius now had four sons: Regulus, Rigel, Alphard, and Asterion Black. Needless to say, Arcturus and Pollux were very pleased about the new generation of Black males who could carry on both the family name and its legacy. For Remus himself, his connection to his humanity had gotten ever stronger.

He'd also mastered the ability to shift at will and in so doing gained a level of control over just how much of the wolf came out when he did shift. Previously, the transformation had been a full-body ordeal where he looked more wolf than man, albeit with the ability to walk on his hind legs.

Now, however, Remus could control his transformation. He could still take the form of the bipedal wolf that he had previously, but most of his transformations were now limited to longer sideburns, his fingernails growing into sharp claws, and more beast-like features which still looked more human than wolf.

He was also in full control of his mind and body during these transformations and thus had no desire to go on a killing spree, making it perfectly safe for him to be around humans during this time.

Of course, despite his newfound control over his transformations, one thing that he had no control over was the fact that the full moon still forced him to transform as long as the moon was out. Although, the benefit of being in full control of his mental faculties and being a werewolf-wizard hybrid was that he could use magic, specifically Glamour Charms, to hide his beast-like features and appear to be completely human even during the full moon.

Looking over at the clock on the bedside table, Petunia smiled at Darius and Hadrian. "You two had better get going. The portkey to Dragon's Court will be going off in five minutes. I'll be fine, don't worry. Vernon will be here if I need anything."

"Yes, go enjoy yourselves," Vernon said. "Petunia will be fine."

Hadrian and Darius nodded before they left the master bedroom at Number Four and made their way downstairs to the living room, where Sirius and Remus were waiting for them.

-o-0-o-

The portkey took them to the solarium at Dragon's Court, where they found Prince Ryan awaiting their arrival. Standing up, Ryan smiled and said, "Welcome."

"Hey Ryan," Hadrian said, as he returned the smile. "I almost didn't recognize you."

"Well it has been a few years," Ryan said.

Despite Hadrian and Darius spending a fair amount of time at Dragon's Court since their first visit back in 1987, they'd spend most of that time with Micheil and Finlay, Alanna, and Carrick, with the Thomas triplets joining them from time to time. This was actually the first time since 1987 that either of them had seen Ryan in person.

Darius nodded. "You were ten when we last saw each other, right?"

Nodding, Ryan answered, "Yup, and I'm fourteen now, so I suppose I have changed a bit in the last four years."

"Puberty tends to have that effect," Sirius said.

"Yes, your voice is deeper than it was last time we met," Hadrian said, as he compared the memory of Ryan at ten to what he saw now. "You're taller and have definitely put on some muscle."

"You will too, soon," Ryan said.

"So I've been told," Hadrian said.

Petunia, Sirius, Remus, and the grandparents had been a bit vague when they'd told Hadrian previously that sometimes witches and wizards could enter puberty earlier than muggles did. In the lead up to his Claiming, however, they finally told him in more detail what they'd meant.

Apparently, there were some magical rituals, the Ritual of Claiming being one of them, that could trigger early onset of the non-sexual aspects of puberty, such as changes in height, voice, and hair growth. According to his guardians and mentors, Hadrian could expect to have a significant growth spurt during his Claiming which would put him in the ninety-fifth percentile for his age, where he was likely to stay throughout his teen years.

Micheil and Finlay walked into the solarium at this point, although because Hadrian was standing with his back to the door to the room, he didn't see them. Putting a finger to their lips to signal everyone else to be quiet, they snuck up behind Hadrian and threw their arms around him.

Hadrian jumped and momentarily tensed but quickly relaxed when he realized who was holding him, as he could feel a head on either side of his own.

"Hey Mic, Fin," Harry said.

The twins let go of Hadrian, before shaking hands with Darius, Sirius, and Remus, before they moved over to the two opposing sofas and sat down. Darius, Sirius, and Remus on one, and Hadrian, Micheil, Finlay, and Ryan on the other. After a moment, Micheil wrapped his arms around Hadrian's shoulders, as Finlay did the same to Ryan.

"So where's Kaidan and Karter?" Hadrian asked.

Finlay sighed. "They won't be here tonight."

"What?" Hadrian asked a note of disappointment in his tone. "Why not?"

"They wanted to be here," Micheil said. "But they're currently at home in bed. They haven't been feeling well for the last day or so."

Nodding, Finlay said, "They've got a cold and are allergic to one of the ingredients of Pepper Up Potion, so they have to get over it the old fashioned way: rest and plenty of fluids."

"Given that they obviously chose to stay home tonight," Ryan added. "Not only to avoid getting anyone else sick but also because they want to get over their cold before school starts in a few days."

"Understandable," Remus said, as the others nodded in agreement.

-o-0-o-

Heading upstairs to get ready, Hadrian stripped out of his clothes in the bathroom and climbed into the rose water bath, just as he had before his Ritual of Confirmation six years ago. When he was finished, he dried off and made his way into the bedroom, pulling on a pair of light red silken briefs and the nearly see-through robe.

Being a bit older now than he was at his Confirmation, Hadrian had to admit that dressing this way was a bit embarrassing. When he was five, he hadn't really cared too much, but then again, even though he'd had his Confirmation at the same time as Neville, there were also fewer people present.

This time, however, due to the Claiming Ball, there would be far more people present. And because it was a Grand Ducal Claiming Ball held at Dragon's Court Palace, pretty much every single lord and their spouse would be present.

With wizards and witches capable of living well into their two or even three-hundredth year, Grand Ducal Claiming Balls were not something that came about often. None of the noble families would want to pass up on the chance to network with the most powerful people in the country.

Of course, such events weren't just limited to the nobility either, as there would no doubt be several Ministry officials present who wanted to curry favor with the nobility to hopefully advance their careers or gain support for whatever pet project they were pursuing.

In fact, they came about so rarely that even though the King was the one responsible for all international relations, some of the foreign royal families and Ministry officials from around the world also tended to send representatives. Not only for networking and currying favor with the current monarch but also with the Grand Dukes, who as the Prince-Electors chose the monarch—and had the power to remove them.

Thus, everyone, both domestically and internationally, knew that it was the Grand Dukes who were the true power behind the throne. So, it paid to not only be well acquainted with them but to also be on their good sides.

Once he was finished preparing, Hadrian made his way out of the bedroom he'd been given to prepare and across the hall to the sitting room where he'd been told to wait until it was time to head down to the Ritual Chamber.

Hadrian had just poured himself a cup of tea when Neville Longbottom entered the room, dressed the same way that Hadrian was.

"I didn't know you were doing your ritual tonight too."

"If my grandmother had had her way, I wouldn't be," Neville said before he sighed and elaborated upon seeing Hadrian's raised eyebrow. "As you may know, my parents have been residents at St. Mungo's for nearly ten years now."

Hadrian nodded. "They're comatose right?"

Shaking his head, Neville said, "No, actually. They were tortured under the Cruciatus Curse until their minds broke beyond repair. They've been on life support ever since and my grandmother refused to take them off of it."

"I take it she was hoping they'd wake up as Gideon and Fabian Prewett did?"

"Exactly. Of course, the difference is that the healers are in unanimous agreement that my parents were never going to wake up. At least with the Prewett twins, they'd shown signs of coming out of their comas over the years. Even if they fell back into them a few times before ultimately waking, they showed positive signs. My parents never did."

"Past tense?" Hadrian asked.

Nodding, Neville said, "They died this afternoon."

"Oh Gods, I'm so sorry."

"Thanks," Neville said. "Of course, my grandmother isn't going to be here tonight because she's not happy with me."

"Why?"

"She's been clinging to false hope for years now, against all medical and familial advice. Ignoring what's best for our family and the Grand Duchy by putting her irrational belief that they'd recover, despite all evidence to the contrary, ahead of everything else."

Neville sighed heavily as he sat down. "I did what I saw as my duty to not only my family but also the people of North Anglia and petitioned King Logan and the five sitting Grand Dukes to strip my grandmother of her authority to make decisions where my parents were concerned. They took some time to deliberate and conferred with the healers before they acted."

"I take it they sided against your grandmother?"

"Yes," Neville replied. "My parents' life support was terminated two days ago. After nearly ten years there was enough of the life support potion in their systems that they lingered until this afternoon, but there were never any signs of improvement in that time. What little brain activity was still present ceased and their organs all began failing until they died this afternoon."

Pulling Neville into a hug, Hadrian said, "That couldn't have been an easy decision to make."

"No, it was probably the hardest decision I've ever made. But, I knew from talking to my grandmother that she was perfectly willing to keep them like that for the next fifty or more years if need be. She didn't care how many times the healers or the family told her it was hopeless, she dug her heels in and wasn't going to budge."

"I suppose the lack of a Grand Duke probably wasn't doing North Anglia any favors."

Shaking his head, Neville said as he took a cup of tea that Hadrian poured for him, "No it wasn't. Our vassal lords were doing their best to keep things running and my grandmother as the Dowager Grand Duchess had some limited authority to make decisions, but nowhere near the level necessary for the Grand Duchy to thrive."

Pausing to take a sip of his tea, Neville continued, "Without a Grand Duke, the family and the Grand Duchy itself were locked in a state of perpetual stagnation that my grandmother was willing to keep them in for however long it took for my parents to wake up. So, basically, until she died, because they weren't going to wake up."

"Well, I'm sorry for your loss," Hadrian said. "Although in a way, I'm kind of glad that I won't be doing this ritual alone. If only because it'll take some of the attention off of me tonight."

"True, but we're still going to be the center of attention. Barring premature death due to injury or illness, new Grand Dukes come around so infrequently that this is a very big deal. Once the ball, starts we can both expect to have multiple people wanting to shake our hands and dance."

Hadrian groaned. "Yeah, so I'm told. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to deal with it."

"At least you'll have your entire family here to support you."

"Well, not quite. My aunt and uncle aren't here tonight. Uncle Vernon is a muggle, so with the potency of the magic involved in the ritual, it wouldn't have been safe for him to be here."

"Why's your aunt not going?"

"She's pregnant with twins," Hadrian answered. "A boy and a girl. Her pregnancy is high risk enough that her healer put her on strict bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy or at least until she's passed the necessary viability threshold."

In the muggle world, the earliest a baby could be considered viable was about twenty-four weeks or roughly five-and-a-half months. In the wizarding world, however, it was different since healers didn't just take a baby's physical and mental development into account.

They also looked at magical development, the vast majority of which didn't happen until after the twenty-four-week mark and stretching on to about thirty-five weeks. The reason for this was that a baby had to be physically viable before they could begin to develop their magic.

Thus healers tended to do everything they possibly could to keep pregnant witches and wizards pregnant until thirty-five weeks, or roughly eight months. The full term was still preferred, of course, but sometimes that wasn't possible.

"Well, at least your aunt's reason for not being here tonight is a happy one," Neville said. "I'm not sure my grandmother will ever forgive me. She's already moved out of Lakeview and into the dower house, as she didn't even want to be under the same roof as me. Great-grandaunt Callidora has moved in since even with this ritual technically making me an adult, I'm still only eleven, so she figured I shouldn't be living in the castle with nobody but the house-elves."

Setting his cup aside, Hadrian pulled Neville into another hug, which they maintained until it was time for them to start the ritual.

-o-0-o-

Arriving in Dragon Court Palace's ritual chamber, there were some murmurs of surprise among those gathered. The only ones who didn't react were the members of the royal family and the five Grand Dukes, who were all aware that Neville was doing his ritual tonight.

For everyone else, they'd been unaware of it as the news of the deaths of Grand Duke Franklin Longbottom and Grand Duchess Alice Longbottom had not yet been announced to the public, due to it happening only a few hours earlier.

Clearing his throat, Logan said, "It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that Lord Franklin Longbottom, the Grand Duke of North Anglia, and his wife, Lady Alice Longbottom, passed away this afternoon in the long-term care ward at St. Mungo's Hospital. Thus, their son and the confirmed heir of House Longbottom will be joining Heir Potter in performing the Ritual of Claiming."

Due to the solemnness of the occasion, nobody else said a word as Hadrian and Neville stepped up to the altar and prepared to begin the ritual. With a pop, the Longbottom family's silver pitcher and basin appeared on the altar next to the Potter's family's. Picking up the pitchers, Hadrian and Neville poured the water from within them into the rune-engraved basins.

Unlike at the Ritual of Confirmation that they'd also done together, this time they didn't speak in unison. Since Neville was a last-minute addition, Hadrian went first.

"I, Hadrian James Potter, firstborn son of Their Most Royal Highnesses Prince-Elector James, born of the Most Noble House Potter, and Princess-Elector-Consort Lily, born of the Common House Evans, come here tonight in the light of the eighth full moon of the one-thousand nine-hundred and ninety-first-year common era to offer my blood in sacrifice to the great god, Zeus, and the great goddess, Hecate, and humbly ask for their blessings as I claim my birthright as Lord and Head of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter and Grand Duke of Cambria.

"Furthermore, I humbly ask the great god, Hades, to allow my parents, who are his subjects in the Underworld, to bear witness to this most solemn of occasions."

There was a slight rustle of wind as Hadrian finished speaking, and just as it had at his Confirmation, the water in Hadrian's basin shimmered as the visage of a fancy Greek helmet—Hades' Helm of Darkness—appeared in the water. A warm breeze blew through the chamber as Hadrian once again felt his parents' hands on his shoulders.

Hadrian paused here, as Neville spoke the same lines that Hadrian had, only changing the names, houses, and titles where necessary. Out of the corner of his eye, Hadrian could see the smile that appeared on Neville's face following the warm breeze after which he could no doubt feel his own parents' hands resting on his shoulders.

Now in unison, Hadrian and Neville both picked up their family athames in their right hands and holding their left hands palm up over the basins, they cut a line down their palms before flipping them over and allowing seven drops of blood to fall into the water.

Once they had, the closed their palms and head them to their hearts, as the droplets swirled in the water turning it blood red. The runes on the basins were now glowing brightly and after a moment, the wind picked up, upsetting their hair, before several loud rumbles of thunder broke the silence, as streaks of lightning flashed through the sky.

The water in both basins began boiling at this point and just before boiling over a thick cloud of smoke rose from each of them. Inside the smoke were a pair of torches with a lightning bolt between them. Barely audible over the wind came the cry of a polecat and the screech of an eagle as the smoky paired torches and lightning bolts flew towards Hadrian's and Neville's faces.

Both of them were bathed in bright white light for a few seconds, as a barking dog and the jangling of keys was drowned out by crashes of thunder, as even more lightning streaked across the heavens.

With the magical part the ritual complete, Hadrian and Neville rounded the altar and knelt before the throne on which King Logan was seated. This was the one and only time in their lives that they'd be required to kneel before the King.

Standing up, Logan smiled, and said, "You've been blessed and consecrated by the Great Lord Zeus and the Great Lady Hecate."

Unsheathing the ancient blade of House Pendragon, Excalibur, Logan tapped Hadrian on the shoulders and then Neville.

"Arise, Prince-Elector Hadrian, Lord and Head of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, The Grand Duke of Cambria and The Duke of Granston.

"Arise, Prince-Elector Neville, Lord and Head of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Longbottom, The Grand Duke of North Anglia and The Duke of Aldersey."

-o-0-o-

Upon leaving the ritual chamber, Hadrian and Neville made their way back upstairs to the bedrooms that they'd gotten ready in to change out of their ritual attire and into their formal robes for the Claiming Ball.

For Hadrian, this consisted of a long, sleeveless tunic in black and gold brocade with golden buttons that was worn over a shimmering light red Acromantula silk shirt with billowing sleeves. A pair of light red satin breeches, white Acromantula silk stockings, and a pair of black basilisk hide shoes with ruby-studded golden buckles covered his legs and feet.

On his hands, Hadrian wore a pair of light red linen gloves and had a black basilisk hide belt with a golden buckle in the shape of the Potter family coat of arms around his waist.

A floor-length black Acromantula silk cape embroidered with intricate gold embroidery and trimmed in light red was positioned over his left shoulder so that it went diagonally across his back and under his right armpit. The cape was held on by a golden tasseled cord held together with a large gold and ruby brooch that was pinned to Hadrian's tunic about four inches to the right of his neck.

And finally upon his head, was a solid twenty-four-carat gold twelve-inch tall crown with four fleurs-de-lis alternating with four crosses pattée, supporting a single golden arch mounted with a monde and cross pattée. Three-hundred pearls and two-hundred and fifty rubies of varying sizes were studded throughout the crown, with its cap made of royal purple velvet trimmed in ermine.

A simplified version of the crown appeared above the Potter family coat of arms and those of the other six Grand Ducal Houses, marking their wearers as the ruling royalty that they were. Hadrian was just happy that the crown had a Featherweight Charm on it, or else he was sure there'd be no way he'd be able to hold his head up, considering that the crown weighed just under five pounds.

There were also additional spells on the crown which made it impossible for it to be summoned off his head or for anybody but him to remove it. Another rather cool charm kept it sitting straight upon his head, even if he bent over at the waist, the crown would remain on his head until he actually took it off with his own hands.

Neville's outfit was the same only the light red elements were replaced with a darker red. The rubies in his ensemble were also more blood-red in color, while the rubies on Hadrian's were a shade or two darker than pink.

"Well, this is it, I suppose," Harry said as he took a deep breath after meeting up with Neville.

"Yeah," Neville agreed. "Is it just me or do you feel strange wearing such a large crown on your head?"

"It's definitely not just you," Hadrian answered. "This isn't going to be a normal thing is it?"

"Don't worry, Hadrian," Micheil said as he and Finlay arrived, along with eleven-year-old Hannah Abbott and thirteen-year-old Cedric Diggory. "The Grand Dukes only wear their crowns for the most formal of occasions."

Nodding, Finlay added, "That tends to be limited only to Claiming Balls, their own wedding, their heir's wedding, the King's coronation, or certain funerals. For the latter that tends to be limited only to the funerals of a Grand Duke or the King, whether current or former."

"Cool," Hadrian said.

Motioning Hannah and Cedric forward, Micheil and Finlay smiled as they said, "Hadrian, Neville, meet Miss Hannah Abbott and Heir Cedric Diggory. Your escorts for the evening."

Hannah curtsied as Cedric bowed to Neville and Hadrian, as they said in unison, "Your Highnesses."

"Miss Abbott," Neville said, blushing slightly, as he took Hannah's hand and leaning down, kissed the back it, even as Hadrian shook Cedric's hand and said, "Heir Diggory."

Being a ball, they both had to escort somebody who would be their primary date for the evening. Of course, at only eleven years old, neither of them had started dating yet. Thus, age and height appropriate escorts were chosen for them.

Hannah Abbott, the daughter of Sir Vincent Abbott, the Lord-Mayor of Eastminster, which the village that Dragon's Court Palace was located near for Neville. And for Hadrian, Heir Cedric Diggory, the firstborn son, and heir of Lord Amos Diggory, whose Duchy of Taleford, while in the Grand Duchy of South Anglia—making Amos a vassal of Grand Duke Theseus Scamander—shared a land and sea border with the Grand Duchy of Cambria. The Diggory seat, Willowglen Manor, was also less than a mile from those shared borders.

As they'd been told to expect, both Hadrian and Neville had experienced growth spurts from their Claiming which placed them in or very near the ninety-fifth percentile for their age. Hadrian now stood a little over the halfway point between being five foot and five foot one, while Neville was about half an inch shorter. Hannah, meanwhile, was four foot eight, and Cedric was five foot one, making them both acceptable escorts for Neville and Hadrian.

"Well, you should get downstairs," Micheil said. "You'll be making a formal entrance with our Dad and the Grand Dukes."

Hadrian and Neville nodded, as they both took a deep breath and prayed that their palms weren't sweating before they each linked arms with their respective dates and made their way downstairs to the antechamber outside the doors they'd be making their entrance from into Dragon Court's Grand Ballroom.

-o-0-o-

Arriving downstairs, Hadrian and Neville made their way into the antechamber, where they found King Logan and King-Consort Cliffton, along with the other five Grand Dukes and their spouses already gathered.

"Ah, if it isn't our two newest members," the man that Hadrian immediately recognized as Garrick Ollivander said. "Welcome."

After a pause, he added, "Neville, I do hope that now that you're a Grand Duke, you'll consider coming to my shop before school and getting an appropriate wand. I know my sister wants you to use your father's wand—thirteen inches, spruce, and dragon heartstring—but it's highly unlikely to work well for you. Spruce wands are extremely loyal to their masters and since the wand didn't choose you, it's likely still loyal to your late father."

Neville nodded. "What with arrangements for my parents' funeral and my new role, I'll be very busy the next few days. But, I'll definitely try to get there before school starts, even if I have to come down to London a couple of hours early on the first."

Garrick smiled. "That's fine. You are my nephew, after all, so I'll be happy to help you find the correct wand even outside of the store's normal operating hours. Just let me know when you can make it and I'll make sure I'm there."

Neville nodded but said nothing as the guards on either side of the doorway into the ballroom grabbed the handles as a drumroll sounded beyond.

"That's our cue," Lord Theseus Scamander said, as he smiled at Hadrian and Neville and said, "We enter one by one before Logan and Cliffton, in order of age. When you enter, stand on the dais for about two minutes, then move off to the side."

Garrick nodded. "I believe you're first Hadrian, so you and Cedric should move to the left side of the dais. Then Neville and Hannah will come in and move to the right side. We'll keep entering thusly until all of the Grand Dukes are in the ballroom. Then we move off the dais as a group before Logan and Cliffton enter last."

Hadrian and Neville nodded in understanding, as they moved into position. As the drumroll ended, Hadrian nodded at the guards, who opened the doors into the ballroom as the trumpeters started playing a fanfare and the court majordomo struck the floor three times with his staff.

"Presenting His Most Royal Highness Prince-Elector Hadrian, Lord of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter and the Grand Duke of Cambria, accompanied by The Most Honorable Cedric Diggory, Confirmed Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Diggory and Marquess of Charwell."

Hadrian and Cedric stepped into the room and stood there for two minutes, surveying the gathered crowd, before moving off to the left as the majordomo struck the floor again.

"Presenting His Most Royal Highness Prince-Elector Neville, Lord of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Longbottom and the Grand Duke of North Anglia, accompanied by The Honorable Hannah Abbott, daughter of the Honorable House of Abbott."

Neville and Hannah stepped into the room and as Hadrian and Cedric did before them, surveyed the crowd for two minutes, before moving off to the right.

"Presenting His Most Royal Highness Prince-Elector Langston, Lord of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Thomas and the Grand Duke of Southern Hibernia, accompanied by Her Most Royal Highness Princess-Consort Anora, Grand Duchess of Southern Hibernia, and daughter of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Cornfoot."

"Presenting His Most Royal Highness Prince-Elector Quentin, Lord of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Cornfoot and the Grand Duke of Northern Hibernia, accompanied by Her Most Royal Highness Princess-Consort Olivia, Grand Duchess of Northern Hibernia, and daughter of the Right Ancient and Noble House of Cameron."

"Presenting His Most Royal Highness Prince-Elector Aindreas, Lord of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of MacDougal and the Grand Duke of South Alba, accompanied by Her Most Royal Highness Princess-Consort Enid, Grand Duchess of South Alba, and daughter of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Longbottom."

"Presenting His Most Royal Highness Prince-Elector Garrick, Lord of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Ollivander and the Grand Duke of North Alba, accompanied by Her Most Royal Highness Princess-Consort Josephina, Grand Duchess of North Alba, and daughter of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Crouch."

"Presenting His Most Royal Highness Prince-Elector Theseus, Lord of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Scamander and the Grand Duke of South Anglia, accompanied by Her Most Royal Highness Princess-Consort Giovanna, Grand Duchess of South Anglia, and daughter of the Grand Ducal House of Gallo of the Roman Empire."

The seven Grand Dukes and their escorts stood on the dais for another two minutes, before they moved off as a group as a second drumroll sounded before the trumpeters played another fanfare.

Striking his staff against the floor once again, the court majordomo made the last announcement he'd be making for the evening.

"Presenting His Majesty King Logan, Lord of the Foremost Ancient and Royal House of Pendragon, King of Albion and Iwernia, and son of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of MacDougal, accompanied by His Majesty King-Consort Cliffton, King-Consort of Albion and Iwernia, and son of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Thomas."

-o-0-o-

"So," Hadrian began, as he had his first dance with Cedric. "What house are you in?"

"Hufflepuff. Which one do you think you'll be in?"

"Not sure. Between my own thoughts and talking with Micheil and Finlay, I'm not sure. Might end up being a hat stall."

After a moment, Hadrian grinned and added, "Although my cousin Darius said he overheard his mum talking with Grandma Melania and apparently she said that she'd eat her garters if one of us doesn't end up in Ravenclaw."

Cedric laughed at that. "Well, Ravenclaw is good. As long as you don't go overboard anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"The professors often assign essays for their classes. They'll usually say one-foot minimum, but they then have to set an upper limit because if they didn't, there's plenty of Ravenclaws who would turn in over a hundred feet of parchment every time."

"I can see how that would be a problem," Hadrian agreed. "I can't imagine the professors have enough time to be reading essays that long from a single student, let alone a whole house full of them, plus the other three."

"Mmmhmm," Cedric said. "So, usually the professors will set a one-foot minimum, and two-and-a-half feet maximum. Of course, then they also had to set a minimum size for handwriting."

Hadrian rolled his eyes. "Let me guess: some of the 'claws decided to try and circumvent the length limit be writing really small?"

Nodding, Cedric said, "Yup. Needless to say, the professors take issue with a student's handwriting when it's so small they need a magnifying glass to see it."

"Well, if I do end up in Ravenclaw, I won't be one of those students. I do enjoy reading and learning, but I see no need to make my professors' jobs harder than they already are."

With a sigh, Hadrian added, "At least I've got household officers that I can delegate to. The professors don't."

"True. With few exceptions, there are two or three professors in each department and while there is a department head, generally speaking, they don't delegate their work to the other professors in their department. Each of them has different years they're responsible for, so they probably don't have time to be doing their own work plus somebody else's."

As the music came ended so too did Hadrian's dance with Cedric. While the Hufflepuff was his primary date for the evening, as a newly installed Grand Duke, he was expected to dance with a few other people.

It wasn't long before he found himself dancing first with Declan MacDougal, before moving on to some of the younger children of his vassals. First among these was Julius Flint, the secondborn son of his constable, Lord Malcolm Flint, the Earl of Axton.

Julius was the same age as Cedric and only about an inch taller, so dancing with him wasn't awkward the way dancing with his elder brother Marcus would be. Marcus was the same age as Micheil and Finlay, even though he was actually a year ahead of them at Hogwarts since he was born before 1 September and didn't start school late as a result. Marcus was a couple of inches shy of being a foot taller than Hadrian.

Hadrian was glad he didn't have to dance with him if only because he didn't really want to have to dance with anyone that he'd have to either spend the entire dance looking at their chest or tilting his head back so that he could see their face.

After Julius, Hadrian next found himself sharing four successive dances with sons of House Weasley. First off were the twins, Fred and George Weasley, the sons of his barrister, Lord Arthur Weasley, the Viscount Ravenstone. Next up was Arthur's nephew Storm, the son of Arthur's younger brother Decimus and his wife Maxima.

Hadrian's last dance before he managed to get off the dance floor to take a break was with another of Arthur's nephews, this time being Ryence Weasley, the son of Arthur's youngest brother, Claudius and his wife Rafaella.

"Having fun?" Micheil asked with a grin as he and Finlay plopped down in a chair next to Hadrian, as he sipped a glass of punch.

"Not really, but then I wasn't under the impression that I was supposed to be."

"True these affairs are rarely very exciting," Finlay said. "Carrick says that watching grass grow is more fun."

"Cedric seemed nice," Hadrian said, as he spied the Hufflepuff who was currently sharing a dance with Neall and Niall MacDougal. "Are they dating?"

Following Hadrian's gaze, Micheil shook his head. "No, they're just good friends. Neall and Niall are in Cedric's year and fellow Hufflepuffs, so they share a dorm room."

"To the best of my knowledge, Cedric is single," Finlay added. "Besides Neall and Niall are dating Grantham and Grantley, respectively."

"Lord Thomas's sons right?" Hadrian asked. "Two of the triplets?"

"Yup," Micheil confirmed. "Grantley is the Thomas heir and is Niall's boyfriend, while his brother Grantham, the middle-born of the triplets, is dating Neall."

Hadrian nodded but otherwise remained silent. He briefly recalled one of his lessons with Arcturus, Pollux, and Nicolas in which they'd been studying the nobility, and Hermione had expressed surprise that so many of the lords or their heirs had husbands, instead of wives.

This led to the explanation that witches and wizards had a long history of not caring about gender when it came to picking their partners. Considering that with magic, any pairing of any gender could have biological children there simply had never been any stigma attached to homosexuality.

In fact, in some families, it actually seemed to be preferred. Hadrian, Darius, Hermione, and their friends were very surprised to learn that the lords and heirs of Houses Crouch, Cameron, Nott, Prince, and Weiss had been marrying wizards exclusively for over a thousand years. That preference was now so ingrained in the collective psyche of the nobility that none of the other families ever even suggested one of their daughters as a potential match for those families' lords or heirs.

"So just out of curiosity," Hadrian asked, "is the youngest triplet dating anyone?"

"Yes," Finlay answered. "Graham is courting the heir of House Cameron, Colton."

Hadrian grinned. "Ah, one of the five families."

Micheil grinned. "Indeed."

Hadrian talked with the twins for a few more minutes before he finished his drink and with a deep breath, made his way back out to the dance floor to knock a few more people off his dance card, starting with Raphaël Flamel, the thirteen-year-old eight-times-great-grandson of his steward.

He did manage to share two more dances with Cedric, interspersed with someone from each of his vassal's houses. His solicitor Lord Padraig Fontaine's twelve-year-old son Fionn and Kaidan and Karter's younger brother Dax, who was only seven years old.

Much to Dax's clear annoyance, as their dance was ending his twenty-one-year-old Grandaunt Davetta Shacklebolt and her wife Joanna came to collect him by quipping that since he was only one year old, it was way past his bedtime.

This, of course, required some explanation as Hadrian was obviously confused. With a much put upon sigh, Dax explained that he was born on 29 February and thus technically he'd only celebrated his birthday on his actual birthday one time in his life. Of course, what made it worse was that Dax's fraternal twin Dex was born on 28 February and Dax had missed being born on the same day as his twin by only a minute.

Hadrian retired for the evening not long afterward, able to use the excuse that he was only eleven and thus couldn't stay up as late as some of the other guests could. Neville very happily used the same excuse, because honestly calling the ball boring would have been an understatement.

It was only after that he'd retired for the evening that Hadrian realized that he hadn't actually danced with a member of his Chancellor Ignatius Prewett's house. But he knew they didn't have any members near his age or height currently, so he figured it couldn't be helped. Plus, he had danced with both Fred and George Weasley, and their mother was a Prewett, so that was good enough in his opinion.

-o-0-o-

While they'd all been tried, Hadrian, Darius, and Neville all returned to their respective homes following the ball the previous night. Darius was still sound asleep when Vernon entered Hadrian's bedroom at half-past eleven and shook his shoulder.

"Hadrian, wake up. I know you were up late last night, which is why we let you sleep in, but its time to get up."

"Five more minutes."

Shaking his head, Vernon said, "We're not starting that. I give you five more minutes and you'll ask for five more five minutes from now. And on and on it will go every five minutes for the next hour."

"No, I won't," Hadrian slurred sleepily.

Knowing that his nephew would do exactly that because he'd done it before, Vernon said, "Hadrian, wake up now or I will pour cold water over your head."

Even though she was in the master bedroom on the other side of the house from Hadrian's room, Petunia heard her husband and shouted, "Hadrian James Potter listen to your uncle! Don't make me come in there."

Hadrian groaned as he sat up and said, "Alright, alright, I'm up, I'm up!"

"I'm sorry Hadrian, I'd let you sleep all day, but you do need to get up," Vernon said apologetically. "It's half-past eleven now, so you've got to get up, shower, get dressed, eat lunch, and then do some of your new lord duties."

At Hadrian's groan, Petunia called out, "Not the least of which is that you finally get to unlock Seacliff Castle."

Hadrian threw back the covers and got out of bed so fast you'd think that his bedsheets had bitten him. Vernon could only laugh as Hadrian practically ran into his ensuite as if somebody was chasing him. But then he wasn't really surprised and he knew that Hadrian had been looking forward to unlocking his family castle ever since he first saw it upon his first visit to the Potter family mausoleum.

Half-an-hour later, Hadrian was showered, dressed, and sitting in the kitchen eating lunch with Nicolas, who as the Potter family steward, agreed to accompany him today since he couldn't Apparate yet.

As his young lord drank the last of his milk, Nicolas smiled and asked, "All finished?"

Hadrian nodded, prompting the Flamel patriarch to stand up and offer his arm to Hadrian.

"Well then, let's get going shall we?"

Hadrian's enthusiasm was clear as he grabbed his steward's arm and they disappeared from Privet Drive with a pop.

-o-0-o-

Arriving at Stagwoods House, Hadrian found Nicolas's wife Perenelle waiting for them in the Apparition Chamber. With a curtsy to Hadrian and a quick peck on the cheek for her husband, she said, "The others are waiting for you in the drawing room, my lord."

Hadrian was tempted to say that she didn't have to call him that, but he kept his mouth shut. He knew that a lot of people were going to be calling him that from now on and more than likely it would be more trouble than it was worth to try and convince them otherwise. So, he resolved to just get used to it.

"Others?" he asked instead.

"Your household officers, their spouses, and their heirs," Perenelle answered. "Her Most Royal Highness the Dowager Grand Duchess of Southern Hibernia and her sister Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Hawkeridge and her husband the Duke is here as well."

Hadrian nodded before motioning towards the doors in a silent indication that they should leave the chamber. Walking across the entry hall to the drawing room, Hadrian found the people that Perenelle had mentioned waiting.

They all stood upon Hadrian entering the room, with the sole exception of Henrika Thomas who remained sitting. Not only because as a Dowager Grand Duchess she was the same rank as Hadrian, but she also had a visible walking cast on her right foot, which she currently had elevated on two pillows atop a footstool.

Crossing the room, Hadrian asked, "Whatever happened to you?"

Henrika smiled. "Oh, nothing too serious. I was overseeing my grandsons' dueling practice last week and I got hit with a stray curse that broke my foot. I'll make a full recovery but the nature of the curse in question made magical healing inadvisable, so I simply have to wait it out the muggle way."

"Well, I hope you get better soon, cousin," Hadrian said, before he turned to the others and said, "So, I'm officially the lord now. I know I have to unlock Seacliff, are there any other immediate concerns?"

"You have to accept vows of fealty," Helena said. "That's why all your officers, their spouses, and heirs are here."

"Ah, I see," Hadrian said. "Can that be done here or should I unlock the castle and we can do it there?"

"It can be done anywhere," answered Perseus Scamander, Helena's husband. "Although I know that tradition within House Scamander has always been to do it in the throne room of our Cedarvale Castle."

"The tradition is the same within House Potter," said Ignatius Prewett, the Marquess of Strathington.

"Okay, well traditions should be observed," Hadrian said, leaving off what he was thinking and that was that only when they made sense. He didn't want to upset anyone's sensibilities on his very first full day as Grand Duke. "So, where do we have to go to unlock the castle wards?"

"The mausoleum, Your Highness," Nicolas replied. "Between the guardian spirit of Edric Potter and the fact that only the blood of a Lord Potter who has gone through both their Confirmation and Claiming can open the secret passage into the ward chamber, it's one of the most secure places on the estate, baring the castle itself."

"And it obviously wouldn't work very well to have the ward chamber in the castle," said Sir Aurelius Shacklebolt, the Lord-Mayor of Ottery St. Catchpole and great-grandfather of Kaidan and Karter. "As it would be impossible to unlock the wards if the ward chamber was inside the lockdown zone."

Nodding, Hadrian said, "Yes, that makes sense. Well, I guess I'll go unlock the wards then. Nicolas if you could accompany me to the mausoleum?"

Nicolas nodded as Hadrian said, "The rest of you, I guess, wait ten minutes or so and then start heading towards the castle. Hopefully, by the time you arrive, I'll have unlocked the wards."

-o-0-o-

"Welcome, Hadrian James Potter, Lord of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. Enter this sacred place in peace," the disembodied voice of Edric Potter said as Hadrian and Nicolas crossed the threshold of the family mausoleum.

Walking over to one of the life-size statues, Hadrian grasped the hand of the statue of Lord Eamon Potter and shook it. If it wasn't for the fact that the arm of this particular statue was designed to be able to, Hadrian would have felt ridiculous shaking hands with a statue.

After a moment, large slabs of Welsh bluestone slid out of the wall next to that statue in a staggered formation that formed a short staircase that would allow Hadrian access to the statue's mouth. Carefully climbing up, he took out the Potter family athame, slit his index finger, and then pressed it to the lips of the statue.

The statue glowed as it tasted Hadrian's blood, before the disembodied voice of Edric said, "My brother finds your blood acceptable, Hadrian James Potter, and grants you access to the Ward Chamber of the Seacliff Castle Estate. Go in peace."

As Edric finished speaking, the entire statue of Eamon Potter moved backward in its niche, as a pair of torches behind where the statue was a moment ago lit themselves with magical blue flames.

Climbing down the stone slabs back to the ground, Hadrian walked down the newly revealed hallway and into the large chamber beyond. What he saw nearly took his breath away.

The floor of the room was primarily black marble, but in the center of it was a large seven-point star made of white marble trimmed in gold. In the center of the star and at each of the seven points was a gold-accented black marble plinth atop which rested eight different gemstones.

Hadrian hesitated to call them stones, however, as from his own reading he knew that in geology, the definition of a boulder was a rock that was larger than ten-point-one inches in diameter. If he had to guess, each of the rough-cut gemstones resting atop the plinths was a minimum of a foot in diameter.

His guardians had been somewhat vague on why exactly they'd had him learning about gemstones and their meanings for the months leading up to his birthday, but now he understood.

To his immediate left, the first stone was an agate. It was a protective stone believed to attract strength and offer protection from bad dreams, stress, and the draining of energy.

Continuing left, he saw a garnet that increased vitality and stamina, granted good luck in business ventures, and engendered passionate devotion to family and friends. Next to that was a moonstone, which helped in the fulfillment of one's destiny and encouraged communication by promoting clear thinking, inspiration, and receptivity.

The fourth gem was onyx, which was thought to enhance determination and perseverance, repel negativity, and protect from the hostility of others. This was followed by a ruby, seen as a symbol of vitality and royalty that opens the heart to promote love, and protects from misfortune and bad health.

The sixth gem was a sapphire, associated with peace and happiness, and helped with communication, insight, intuition, inspiration, and divining the future. Coming around full circle to the seventh gem that was to his immediate right he found a tourmaline. It was said to strengthen body and spirit, calm nerves, soothe grief, promote balance and understanding, build self-confidence, and aid inspiration and concentration.

Finally, on the center plinth, was a diamond larger than all the other stones. Protection from poison, it was also thought to absorb and amplify the magical strengths of the other stones surrounding it.

"You'll have to cut the palm of your wand hand and bleed on each stone, starting with the diamond in the center," Nicolas said from the doorway of the room. He hadn't come inside, as he was magically blocked from coming any further into the room than the doorway until he swore fealty to Hadrian as his new liege lord. "Beyond the diamond, the order you bleed on them doesn't matter, but you have to bleed on each of them."

"How much?" Hadrian asked.

"Hard to say," Nicolas answered. "The wards have been in lockdown for ten years now, so they may need more blood and magic than if the wards were passing directly from lord to heir. The stones will let you know how much they need, however, as your palm will be magically affixed to each stone until they've each taken what they need."

Hadrian turned and looked at Nicolas at this, prompting the venerable old alchemist—even though he didn't look a day over thirty—to smile and say, "I've got Blood Replenishers and Magical Restoratives with me, so don't worry."

Hadrian nodded before he took a deep breath, took out the Potter family athame and holding it in his left hand, slashed the palm of his wand hand, before placing his hand on the diamond in the center of the chamber. Almost immediately, Hadrian could feel the stone heating up and it seemed to drink in both his blood and his magic. Just as Nicolas had said, he found that he couldn't remove his hand from the stone.

After what seemed like hours but was really only two or three minutes, Hadrian could finally move his hand, so moving around the circle to each stone beginning with the agate, he allowed each to taste of his blood and magic.

Each stone began to glow brightly as he removed his hand. Moving around the circle with his back to the previous stone he didn't immediately notice the arc of magical energy that was shooting out of each stone into the diamond in the center.

He did, finally, notice however as he finally reached the tourmaline and despite feeling tired and sluggish from the loss of blood and drain on his magic, he couldn't help but be awed by the sight. After each stone was powered and sending magical currents into the diamond it began not only glowing the brightest of all but seemed to be pulsating.

A moment later a jet of pure white magical energy shot up out of the diamond into a second smaller diamond that Hadrian only just now noticed was mounted on the ceiling.

"It's done," Nicolas said, as Hadrian lethargically moved back to the alchemist. "The wards are powered and unlocked, so you'll now have full access to not only Seacliff Castle, but the entire estate, including all of the gardens and other outbuildings."

"Cool," Hadrian slurred, as he nearly collapsed into Nicolas's arms. "Potions, please."

"Yes, my lord," Nicolas said.

-o-0-o-

Half-an-hour later, Hadrian sat upon his throne in Seacliff Castle. He was wearing a crown, but it wasn't the formal one from last night. Instead, it was a far more simple golden and ruby circlet that had the Potter family coat of arms engraved in the middle between the two largest rubies. Of the two, he definitely preferred this one.

"Well, let's get this done," Hadrian said, as he motioned for the Flamels to come forward first, as they were the senior-most peers in Cambria.

Present were Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel and their son Florian and his wife Sabine. Perenelle, Florian, and Sabine knelt on the ground before the throne, their heads bowed, as Nicolas climbed the steps to the throne and knelt down in front of Hadrian, he placed his hands between Hadrian's.

"I, Nicolas, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Flamel, Duke of Pleinmont, do hereby pledge myself unto you as your faithful and true vassal lord of life and limb, and vow before the Gods and these witnesses that I will forevermore bear faithful and true council unto you, Hadrian, Lord of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, Grand Duke of Cambria. I further vow to do everything within my power and that of my House to defend, honor, and keep you, as well as your heirs and successors under the law safe from any harm that might befall them, either now or in the future. These vows I make, on my magic, my honor, and my very life, so mote it be."

Upon finishing, there was a flash of magical energy, before Nicolas kissed Hadrian's right hand and stood touching one hand to the circlet upon his head, before walking back down the steps from the throne, bowing once more, before he and his family moved off to one side.

"I, Ignatius, Lord of the Right Ancient and Noble House of Prewett, Marquess of Strathington," began Ignatius a few minutes later, before repeating the same oath given by Nicolas. His wife, Lucretia, and his nephew and heir, Bilius Prewett, kneeling behind him as he did so.

"I, Malcolm, Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Flint, Earl of Axton," began Malcolm when it was his turn. His wife, Elizabeth, and son and heir, Marcus, kneeling behind him.

"I, Arthur, Lord of the Noble House of Weasley, Viscount Ravenstone," Arthur began his vows, his wife Molly and eldest son and heir, William, kneeling behind him.

"I, Padraig, Lord of the Right Honorable House of Fontaine, Baron Mathry," Padraig offered his own vows, his wife Eileen, son and heir, Crevan, and his husband Tobin, kneeling behind him.

One thing that Hadrian couldn't help but notice, however, is that Crevan's conjoined twin brother, Finian, did not have his head bowed nor did he silently mouth the words of the oath along with his father, as the rest of his family did.

The reason for this became clear, as Padraig stepped away and Crevan and Finian moved forward, kneeling on the steps where his father had knelt moments earlier.

"I, Finian, husband of Torin Graves, the Confirmed Heir of the Right Honorable House of Graves, a sworn vassal of Neville, Lord of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Longbottom, Grand Duke of North Anglia, do hereby pledge, before the Gods and these witnesses, that I will honor the vows made by my brother Crevan as far as is necessary due to our being bound together in flesh and magic, but only when they don't conflict with the vows I have already given to my husband's liege lord. This vow I make, on my magic, my honor, and my very life, so mote it be."

"I trust you made a similar amended vow to Neville?" Hadrian asked Crevan as he and Finian stood up.

"Yes, my lord," Crevan answered.

"Very well," Hadrian said. "I promise to do everything within my power to ensure that you aren't put in a position that requires you to act in a way that puts you in conflict with either Finian or Prince Neville."

"Thank you, my lord," Crevan and Finian said in unison, as they backed away.

The last of Hadrian's vassals approached the throne at this point, as Lady Cornelia Shacklebolt knelt alongside her son Kingsley and his wife Miranda. Taking his place at the front, Cornelia's husband Aurelius, said, "I, Aurelius, Knighted Head of the Honorable House of Shacklebolt, Lord-Mayor of the Village of Ottery St. Catchpole," before repeating the same vow given by Nicolas, Ignatius, Malcolm, Arthur, and Padraig before him.

"That takes care of the fealty oaths," Hadrian said with a smile. "So, if there's nothing else, I think I'd like to explore…"

Hadrian stopped speaking, as the doors to the throne room opened. Henrika and Helena's eyes practically bulged out of their heads when they saw the reason why.

"Uncle Charlus? Aunt Dorea?" They asked in unison, the shock clear in their voices. "You're alive?!"

Charlus and Dorea could only smile, as Charlus said, "I'm pleased to say that rumors of our deaths have been greatly exaggerated."

"How?" Nicolas asked, shocked to see them.

"The lockdown," Dorea asked. "When James died, we were in our home at Seaview Hall here on the estate and got trapped inside."

Before anyone else could say anything, Charlus took his wife by the arm and led her over to wear Hadrian still sat upon the throne. Kneeling and bowing their heads to Hadrian, Charlus said, "My lord, I'm Charlus Potter, your father's uncle, and this is my wife Dorea Black Potter."

"That means you're my granduncle, right?" Hadrian asked.

He was happy to have more family that he didn't know about, but the thought that they'd spent the last not quite ten years trapped inside their home was disconcerting, to say the least.

"Yes, it does indeed," Charlus said as he and Dorea rose to their feet. "I was the youngest of three siblings. Your late grandfather Julian was the eldest, and Henrika and Helena's father, the late Fleamont, was the middle son."

"So it was just the two of you alone at Seaview all these years?" Ignatius asked.

Charlus and Dorea smiled but said nothing, as a new voice said, "Not quite."

This drew everyone's attention away from Charlus and Dorea and back to the doors of the throne room where six more people could be seen. Four men and two women of varying ages.

"Glenora!" Molly practically screeched as she dropped her husband's hand and practically ran across the room where she pulled her baby sister, Glenora Prewett Potter, into a hug. "You're alive!"

"Yes and I've so very happy to see you, Molly," Glenora said.

The two women hugged for a moment longer, before she motioned to the man standing next to her and said, "You remember my husband, I trust?"

"Of course, Jacob it's so good to see you," Molly said before she noticed the two young men standing nearby and asked, "Nathan? Bastian?"

"Hello Aunt Molly," the two of them said in unison. "Long time no see."

"Oh my word, you've grown," Molly said as she pulled her nephews into a single hug. After a moment she said, "Wait if the two of you have been inside Seaview since James died…"

The younger of the two, Bastian, nodded, and said, "Neither of us ever went to Hogwarts."

"We've done our best to homeschool them," said Nathaniel Potter, who was the son of Charlus and Dorea, father of Jacob, and grandfather of Nathan and Bastian. "It would have been easier, of course, if they'd bought wands before the lockdown."

"Yes, I'm afraid neither of them ever did shop for their first years," said Nathaniel's wife, Elspeth Ogden Potter. "Bastian was only nine when James died. As for Nathan, due to his birthday being 16 September, he wasn't due to start Hogwarts until 1 September 1982, by which time we'd been trapped inside Seaview for almost a year."

"After spending over nine years trapped inside of it," Bastian said, "I'm not exactly looking forward to continuing living there."

Nathan nodded, as he added, "Honestly if I never see the inside of that place again it'll be too soon."

"You're more than welcome to take rooms here at Seacliff," Hadrian said. "I'll be going off to Hogwarts in less than a week, besides which I'm probably not going to be living here full time even when school isn't in session. My Aunt Petunia and her muggle husband Vernon are my legal guardians, so he wouldn't be able to live here full time."

"Your Claiming did make you a legal adult, my lord," Padraig said.

Hadrian nodded. "Perhaps, but I dare you to tell my Aunt Petunia that I'm an adult at only eleven years old. I can practically guarantee that a Stinging Hex you'd still be feeling hours later would be the least of your worries."

Shaking his head, Hadrian added, "So regardless of what the law might say, I'm perfectly content with going on living with my aunt and uncle until I'm at least seventeen. Most of my duties as Grand Duke will be delegated anyway while I'm still in school, so I'm going to try to have as normal of a childhood as I can while I'm still a child."

"That sounds like a perfectly reasonable idea to me," Lucretia Black Prewett said, as several of the other women in the room nodded in agreement.

-o-0-o-

Ultimately, Charlus and Dorea opted to remain at Seaview because they'd been living there for their entire married life and after fifty-two years, it held far more good memories for them than bad. Nathaniel and Elspeth opted to move off the Seacliff Estate, and take up residence in the empty Potter family townhouse located at Number 6 Diagon Heights in the City of Londinium.

Jacob, Glenora, and their sons, meanwhile, decided to take Harry up on the offer of moving into Seacliff itself and had been provided with two suites in the family wing. The house-elves were more than happy to move all of their belongings for them, so Nathan and Bastian got their wish of not having to set foot inside Seaview again.

It's not that they hated it, as they did have some good memories of visiting their great-grandparents there before James died. However, after being forced to spend the last years of the childhoods, all—or almost all in Bastian's case—of their teen years, and the entire time they should have been at Hogwarts there, they didn't think it was unreasonable to want some distance.

Speaking of Hogwarts, it was agreed that unfortunately, Nathan and Bastian would never be able to attend. Nathan was twenty years old, due to be twenty-one in less than a month and Bastian was only two days away from turning nineteen. Thus, Professor Dumbledore and the Heads of House agreed that they were much too old to be starting their first years.

Professor Dumbledore did invite them to come to his office and be sorted at least. All of the professors had agreed to test them for their OWLs and NEWTs, to see if their homeschooling with borrowed wands had been enough to pass. Of course, visiting Diagon Alley, not only to buy their own wands but new clothes—they'd been forced to wear their father's, grandfather's, and great-grandfather's hand-me-downs as they grew—was definitely among their immediate priorities.

Despite the relative chaos of the lead up to Hadrian's first year and short notice, he did throw the house-elves into a frenzy planning a grand ball at Seacliff to welcome back the eight members of the Potter family that were previously thought to be dead.

Hadrian was overjoyed to have a family. He'd already had it in Sirius, Remus, Darius, Petunia, Vernon, and Chase. And, of course, Henrika, Helena, and their children and grandchildren. But having several Potters was a thrill. Especially since it took some of the pressure off of Hadrian to repopulate the family. He knew as Grand Duke he'd be expected to sire heirs at some point, but it was less of an immediate concern now that he wasn't the only member of the family who could do so.

-o-0-o-

September First finally dawned and Hadrian along with Darius, Wayne, Kevin, Piers, Hermione, Neville, Hannah, and Morag found themselves sharing a compartment aboard the Hogwarts Express. They were all excited to start school and couldn't stop talking about their hopes and expectations for the coming school year.

Before they knew it, they were changing into the uniforms and a while later, the train was coming to a stop at Hogsmeade Station. Corralled onto the boats for a ride across the lake by Hagrid, the half-giant Keeper of Keys and Grounds, they soon found themselves standing in front of the stern-looking Deputy Headmistress McGonagall as she explained about the houses of Hogwarts.

About ten minutes later, they were walking down the center aisle of the Great Hall, many of them looking around in awe, barely even noticing the faces of the older students watching them. The Sorting Hat sang a song and then McGonagall pulled out a large scroll.

"Abbott, Hannah," she called first.

About a minute later, the Sorting Hat called out, "HUFFLEPUFF," as the Hufflepuffs cheered and Hannah made her way down to join her new housemates.

"Bones, Susan."

"HUFFLEPUFF."

This was followed by Terry Boot and Mandy Brocklehurst going to Ravenclaw, Lavender Brown to Gryffindor, Millicent Bulstrode to Slytherin, Leanne Carmichael to Hufflepuff, and Michael Corner to Ravenclaw.

"Cornfoot, Stephen," McGonagall called out which made Hadrian perk up slightly since he knew that Grand Duke Quentin Cornfoot's son and heir was named Stephen.

The Sorting Hat took a few moments longer than it had for the students before him, but finally, it called out, "RAVENCLAW."

Vincent Crabbe and Tracey Davis went to Slytherin and Faye Dunbar to Gryffindor.

"Dursley, Darius," McGonagall called out, as Darius made his way up to the stood and put the Sorting Hat on his head.

"_**Well, well, what have we here?"**_ The Sorting Hat asked in Darius's head. _**"Interesting, very interesting. You're one of the most powerful students I've sorted tonight. Loyal to your friends and family, not a bad mind either… but I don't think those will do, no, better be… **_SLYTHERIN!"

"Entwhistle, Kevin," McGonagall called out as Darius made his way to the Slytherin table. Hadrian and Darius both watched with curiosity which house Kevin would end up in.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Justin Finch-Fletchley went to Hufflepuff, Seamus Finnegan to Gryffindor, Anthony Goldstein to Ravenclaw, and Gregory Goyle to Slytherin.

"Granger, Hermione."

"_**Hmm, well, you are an interesting one,"**_ the Sorting Hat said. _**"Smart, brave, loyal, and an ambition to learn and prove yourself. You could fit in any of the houses, but I think it's clear that you belong in…**_ RAVENCLAW!"

Next up was Daphne Greengrass who went to Slytherin.

"Hopkins, Wayne."

Wayne was standing next to Hadrian and he gave his friend a comforting pat on the back as he took a deep breath and made his way up to the front and put on the Sorting Hat. The hat had barely touched his head when it called out, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Megan Jones and Abigail Kowalski soon joined Wayne in Hufflepuff, before Zachary Kowalski went to Gryffindor, and Su Li to Ravenclaw.

"Longbottom, Neville."

The entire hall quieted down as Neville made his way up to the front and put on the Sorting Hat. Needless to say, they all wanted him as it had been a century at least since a sitting Grand Duke was attending Hogwarts. Whichever house he was placed in would enjoy the honor of calling him theirs.

The Sorting Hat was quiet for several minutes, and from the scrunching of Neville's brow, Hadrian had the suspicion that he was arguing with the Hat over its choice. The Hat even seemed to move on Neville's head as if shaking its head no to something he said before it apparently had enough arguing and called out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Hadrian knew from talking to Neville on the train that he was hoping for Hufflepuff, but apparently, the Hat disagreed.

"MacDougal, Morag."

As Morag made her way up to the front, the hall fell silent again, wondering where the Hat would place the only living daughter of Grand Duke Aindreas MacDougal.

His current wife, Enid, was actually his second. His first wife and their five children—three sons and two daughters—had, unfortunately, all been victims of the wars with Grindelwald or Voldemort. Mostly Voldemort, although Aindreas and his first wife had lost their eldest son, who wasn't even out of diapers yet, to followers of Grindelwald two months before his defeat in 1945.

"RAVENCLAW."

As Morag made her way to the Ravenclaw table, Ernie Macmillan went to Hufflepuff, Draco Malfoy to Slytherin, Roger Malone to Hufflepuff, Theodore Nott to Slytherin, Joseph Ogden to Hufflepuff, and Pansy Parkinson to Slytherin.

Padma Patil soon went to Ravenclaw, while her twin sister Parvati went to Gryffindor. Sally Anne Perks went to Ravenclaw, followed by Hadrian and Darius's friend Piers going to Gryffindor.

"Potter, Hadrian."

Taking a deep breath, Hadrian made his way up to the front of the room, noting as he put on the Hat that like it had been for Neville, the hall was so quiet that you could probably hear a pin drop. Everyone was leaning forward slightly in their seats to see who would get The-Boy-Who-Lived… and also happened to be the new class's other sitting Grand Duke.

"_**My, my, my,"**_ the Sorting Hat said in Hadrian's head. _**"You are quite the quandary, Mr. Potter. Easily the strongest, most magically gifted student I've seen tonight… and something is blocking my senses, but I can tell that there's something very different about you. I detected something similar in your cousin Darius, but to a much lesser degree."**_

"_**Does this have anything to do with my aura?"**_ Hadrian asked in his head. _**"My Grandfather Arcturus has mage-sight and he said he saw gold in my aura and that he'd never seen that in anyone else's."**_

"_**I believe that might be part of what I'm seeing, yes,"**_ the Sorting Hat said. _**"However, there's also something about your scar… I can't tell and whatever it is doesn't like me probing it. Well, I suppose I should figure out where you belong. Hmm, I'm sensing bravery, loyalty, cunning, and definitely not a bad mind either. In fact, your memory is eidetic if I'm not mistaken."**_

"_**I do find it very easy to retain information," **_Hadrian commented. _**"I wasn't sure if my memory was eidetic or not though."**_

"_**You can rest assured that it is, Lord Potter,"**_ the Hat said. _**"Well, we've been up here talking for nearly seven-and-a-half minutes now, so I suppose I'd better make my decision… You'd do well in any of the houses, I think, but hmm, yes, I think it better be…**_ RAVENCLAW!"

Taking the hat off his head and moving towards the Ravenclaw table, he saw Darius giving him a thumbs up. They'd had a feeling they wouldn't end up in the same house, no matter how much they would have liked to.

Hadrian couldn't help but grin as he had a feeling that Darius was no doubt thinking the same thing that he was. At least Aunt Petunia wouldn't have to eat her garters, as one of them had, in fact, ended up in Ravenclaw.

Oliver Rivers soon joined the Ravenclaw table, and Sophie Roper the Slytherins, before Hufflepuff got three more students in Rolf Scamander, Sally Smith, and Zacharias Smith.

Hadrian did wonder if the latter two were related, although looking at them he didn't see a family resemblance. Plus, Sally was black and Zacharias was white. Of course, Smith was a very common surname, so it was likely that everyone who had it wasn't actually related.

Only four students were left waiting to be sorted at this point. Dean Thomas went to Gryffindor and Hadrian couldn't help but wonder if he was any relation to Grand Duke Langston Thomas. He had light brown skin, suggesting mixed ancestry, and although Hadrian only got a brief look at his face, he thought maybe he saw a resemblance to the triplets.

Of course, he could just be imagining it. Time would tell.

Lisa Turpin went to Ravenclaw, Ron Weasley to Gryffindor, and finally, the last of the new students, Blaise Zabini went to Slytherin.

Clapping his hands together as McGonagall took the Sorting Hat and stool away, Dumbledore smiled out at everyone and said, "Before we tuck in for what is undoubtedly a delicious meal, I would like to share a few words with you all and here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

Everyone in the hall was looking at Professor Dumbledore strangely, as he just smiled and said, "Thank you, now dig in."

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

And there you have it, Ch8 of 'The Seventh Olympian.' The longest chapter to date and Hadrian and friends are finally at Hogwarts. So, as you saw, there were a few additions to the canon class, though most of them ended up in their canon houses… with the exceptions of Hermione and Hadrian. Did you see that coming? And any thoughts on the Sorting Hat's thoughts about Hadrian?


	10. Chapter 9

The Seventh Olympian

Written By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Nine

-o-0-o-

_**1 September 1991…**_

After the standard start-of-term announcements, which included that the Forbidden Forest was, in fact, forbidden and that anyone not wishing to die a most painful death should avoid the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side, Professor Dumbledore told the prefects to start leading their houses to their dormitories.

Of course, it was only the first years who actually needed to be shown to the dormitories as the older years could find them without help. Thus, only one prefect from each year actually did this duty, while the others headed to the Prefect's Lounge—located across the hall from the Prefect's Bathroom—for relaxation and a continuation of the meeting with Head Boy Plato Meadowes and Head Girl Bianca Zabini that started aboard the Hogwarts Express.

The prefects were given the duty of escorting the first years this year were Percy Weasley for Gryffindor, Storm Weasley for Hufflepuff, Ursula Welch for Slytherin, and Micheil and Finlay MacDougal for Ravenclaw. Many incoming first-years had never even met their prefect escort, but the same could not be said for the first-year Ravenclaws.

Obviously, Morag MacDougal had met Micheil and Finlay, since her father was their granduncle. But, Stephen Cornfoot, as the heir of Grand Duke Quentin Cornfoot, had also met the eldest sons of the King, as had Kevin and Hermione through their friendship with Hadrian.

The latter of whom knew the twins potentially better than even Morag since they'd been communicating via charmed journal nearly every day for the last four years. Hadrian was glad that if he had to be in a different year than Darius, at least he already friends there. He was also rather looking forward to being able to physically talk to the twins, instead of just writing back and forth.

At least all the years of doing so had ensured that Hadrian's handwriting was very neat and clear. Something which his professors would no doubt appreciate.

The prefects from each house held the first years back in the Great Hall until all of the older students made their way out, to ensure that they didn't lose track of any of their young charges among the throng of older and taller students.

Of course, some were easier to spot than others, as Micheil and Finlay definitely had no trouble finding Hadrian, while the same could be said for Percy being able to find Neville. Their Claimings putting them in the ninety-fifth percentile for their age meant that they were both easily spottable among their peers.

"Okay, now, first things first," Finlay said. "For those of you who don't already know me, I'm Finlay MacDougal," and pointing at Micheil, he added, "And this my brother Micheil."

A black boy raised his hand and at Finlay's nod, he said, "I'm Oliver Rivers. Why do you have two heads?"

"You're muggleborn or muggle-raised, I assume?" Micheil asked, and Oliver nodded. "Finlay and I are conjoined twins."

Nodding, Finlay added, "You will notice that in the magical world, they're far more common and you're much more likely to see them. We're not the only set attending Hogwarts at the moment, so you're likely to see others."

"The way they're connected may be different," Micheil said, "but you will see them. I know in the muggle world, most such twins are separated. Now, obviously, for Finlay and me, that has never been in the cards, because with only one body between us it would be impossible for either of us to survive the attempt."

Oliver nodded in agreement. "Okay, but what about other sets that aren't as closely connected?"

"You'll find that it's considered taboo to even think about separating conjoined twins, let alone actually doing it."

Grinning, Finlay said, "Yes, we're far too valuable."

"Why?" asked a black girl with long black hair.

"Sally-Anne Perks, if I'm remembering correctly?" asked Micheil, who had paid close attention during the Sorting so that he'd at least know the names of all the new first-year Ravenclaws. The girl nodded and smiled, indicating that was indeed her name.

"Well, Sally-Anne, you see, it's like this," Micheil said, and then went on to explain why with some interjections by Finlay.

Because of this explanation, they were the last group in the Great Hall. Something which was commented upon when the diminutive Professor Flitwick came over and asked, "Is everything all right, Messrs. MacDougal?"

"Yes, professor," Micheil said. "Finlay and I just took a moment to explain about conjoined twins in the wizarding world for the muggleborns or muggle-raised, as we figured they were probably curious for obvious reasons."

"Ah, of course," Flitwick said with a smile. "Yes, you're the only conjoined prefects in your year and probably the first set some of them have ever seen. In that event, five points each to Ravenclaw, for an excellent bit of teaching."

"Thank you, Professor," Finlay said before he motioned to the man and said, "First years, since he's here, allow me to introduce Professor Filius Flitwick. He's the Head of the Charms Department and thus you won't have him as a professor until your sixth and seventh years."

"However, he's also Head of Ravenclaw House," Micheil added, "So, you'll be seeing far more of him than most of the other first years."

Smiling at the first years, Flitwick said, "I look forward to getting to know each of you better and teaching you when you're older." Turning to Micheil and Finlay, he added, "Now, you should probably escort them upstairs before Miss Clearwater and the older Ravenclaw prefects send out a search party."

-o-0-o-

Arriving at the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower, Micheil and Finlay turned and smiled at their fourteen charges—seven boys and seven girls—before Micheil said, "As you can see there's no doorknob and no keyhole on this door."

Several of the first years nodded, as Finlay said, "To enter our common room, you have to knock using the door knocker. Its enchanted and will ask a riddle, which you must answer correctly for the door to open."

"And if you don't answer it correctly?" Terry Boot asked.

"Well, then you have to wait here until someone else comes along and answers correctly," Micheil said before he turned and Finlay turned to the side so that Micheil could raise his hand and grasp the enchanted knocker.

The eyes of the eagle-shaped knocker glowed for a moment, before a feminine voice asked, _"While some months have 30, others have 31. How many have 28?"_

"Well, that's easy," Sally-Anne Perks said. "The answer is one."

"_Incorrect, Miss Perks,"_ the voice said.

"What? How is that not correct?" Hermione asked. "February has 28 days, so that's one month."

"_Incorrect, Miss Granger,"_ the voice said.

Micheil and Finlay laughed, even as Hermione's brow furrowed in frustration, before Finlay said, "I can see many of you are thinking the knocker is broken, but I assure you it isn't."

Nodding, Micheil added, "Yes, you both went with the obvious answer. And in so doing, you've failed to give the question enough thought. If you had, you'd realize that it's a trick question."

With dawning realization, Hadrian said, "12, the answer is 12."

"_Correct, Mr. Potter,"_ the voice said, before the sound of a latch opening could be heard, a second before the door swung open.

"How is that rig…?" Kevin asked, but stopped mid-word as he realized what Hadrian had already realized. "Oh," as he slapped his forehead. "Duh, it's a trick question because whether they have 30 or 31, all 12 months have 28 days."

"I should have known that," Hermione muttered, obviously disappointed with herself.

Giving his friend a comforting pat on the back, Hadrian said, "You can't get them all right, Hermione. Anyway, look at the bright side, you can learn from this, and maybe not make the same mistake next time."

Hermione smiled and thanked Hadrian, as Micheil and Finlay ushered the first years through the door and into the Ravenclaw Common Room.

Inside the room, they found a massive round room with a high domed ceiling that was painted blue with stars, a motif that was repeated in the midnight-blue carpet. Eight large and graceful arched windows stretching from floor to ceiling were spread out along the far wall, which was decorated with bronze-trimmed silks in various shades of blue.

To the right, about half-way between the door and the first of the windows was a large light blue marble fireplace, the mantelpiece held up by the outstretched wings of a pair of bronze eagles sitting atop two short dark blue marble Corinthian columns on either side of the hearth.

To the left of the door, an identical pair of eagles resting atop the columns held a large corkboard for the posting of house notices. A multitude of chairs, couches, and low tables was scattered about the room, forming several comfortable seating areas.

Directly across from the door on the other side of the room was a large alcove that held what appeared to be a private library. There was also a large white marble statue sitting in the middle of the alcove.

Pointing at it, Micheil said, "The statue is of Rowena Ravenclaw," even as Finlay pointed at the large portrait above the fireplace and added, "So the painting above the fire. The rest of the paintings around the room are of famous 'claws throughout history."

A few of the students nodded their heads, but before they could comment, the door into the room opened and a blond-haired girl walked in.

"Mic, Fin, there you are," she said. "I've got your patrol assignments for the week."

Accepting the sheet of parchment, Micheil said, "Thanks. Penelope, meet the new firsties. Everyone, this is Penelope Clearwater, the other year five prefect."

Penelope smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

After a few pleasantries were exchanged, Finlay said, "Since you're here, Penny, could you take the girls up to their dorm? We'd do it ourselves, but having absolutely zero interest in girls doesn't except Mic and I from setting off the alarms."

"No problem," Penelope said with a smile.

As the group was separating into two groups, Michael Corner asked, "Alarms?"

"Boys are not allowed in the girl's dormitories," Penelope explained. "So, whatever you do, don't go up that staircase."

As she said this she pointed at a stone staircase that was almost completely hidden behind several tall bookshelves near the announcement board. Only the stone newel post at the bottom of the stairs, the first step, and about a third of the second was visible.

"That leads up to the girl's dorms," Micheil said. "However, boys can't go up there. The stairs will let you get about halfway before an alarm will go off and the stairs will turn into a slide."

"Said slide is magically charmed to be slippery," Finlay said. "So it's pretty much a guarantee you'll end up arse over tip at the bottom of the stairs, with everyone laughing at you. Well, at least those that can restrain themselves from wringing your neck for setting off the alarm, that is."

"Yes, it is quite loud," Penelope said. "According to some of the muggleborns, if any of you live in or around Crowthorne in Berkshire, England then apparently the alarm sounds like the Broadmoor escape sirens, only louder and indoors."

Sally-Anne and Oliver both winced, as Terry Boot, a pureblood whose knowledge of the muggle world was quite limited, asked, "What's Broadmoor? And why does it have escape sirens?"

"It's a muggle psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane," Hadrian answered. "The siren network is tested every Monday at 10 in the morning to make sure it's working."

Nodding, Hermione said, "I have a cousin who lives nearby. She said that the residents are pretty much used to it by now. There haven't been many escapes in recent years, but everyone who lives in the area will definitely sit up and take notice if the sirens go off anytime other than 10 am on Mondays."

"Probably a good idea," Kevin said. "When dealing with the possible escape of a dangerous and mentally unstable criminal."

"Indeed," Finlay agreed, before the group split up, with Penelope leading the girls up the stairs to their dorms, while Micheil and Finlay lead the boys across the common room to the library niche, where they opened a door that was disguised to look like a bookcase that opened into a small hallway with stairs going up and down.

"The common room is on the fifth floor," Micheil explained. "And the boys' dorm rooms are on floors six through thirteen."

"What about the girls' dorms where are they?" Michael Corner asked. "I know we can't go there, but there doesn't seem to be room under the common room for the girls' dorms and since they have a separate staircase, I'm assuming this one," pointing to the one going down, "doesn't lead to the girl's dorms."

"You're right, it doesn't," Finlay said. "Those stairs access two additional floors below the common room. A suite of rooms meant for the head boy if they're in Ravenclaw on the fourth floor and Professor Flitwick's office and quarters on the third."

"As for the girl's dorms, they're not in the same tower as the common room," Micheil explained. "With the domed ceiling, the common room is actually two stories high, but the stairs to the girls' dorm only goes up halfway to a mezzanine level where a corridor leads to a nearby tower that's pretty much an exact copy of this one, only it's about three stories shorter, due to not having a two-story common room and no floor dedicated to the office and quarters of the Head of House."

-o-0-o-

Twenty minutes later, Micheil and Finlay bid the first years goodbye and left after giving them a quick tour. Immediately upon entering the room, with your back still facing the door, to the left was another door leading into a large ensuite bathroom. In it were seven toilet stalls and seven sinks, as well as a door to the seven-man communal shower room.

Opposite the bathroom were a pair of large arched floor-to-ceiling windows with a door between them. Through the door was a private covered balcony that had a bunch of wicker furniture, some plants, and an outdoor chess table. The balcony didn't project out but was rather just a hollowed-out outdoor section of the tower.

Micheil and Finlay noted that there was a special screen spell cast along the outside edge that would keep bugs and birds out. The same spell would also regulate the temperature making it cool on hot days and warm on cold days, thus making it usable no matter the time of year it was.

On a diagonal wall near the door to the bathroom was a large fireplace that was open on three sides. There were three comfortable-looking couches arranged in front of it with a coffee table in front of the middle one. There were also two additional chess tables set up on opposite sides of the room.

Two four-foot-high by five-foot wide bookcases were next to a large table with seven chairs which Micheil and Finlay said could be used either as a group study table or also as a gaming table if say they wanted to play Exploding Snap or any other game that wasn't chess.

While most students took their meals in the Great Hall, no rules stated that they had to be eaten there. So, Micheil and Finlay also told the boys that the house-elves, if called, were more than willing to bring food up.

The twins said that on more than one occasion since starting school, the boys in his year had ordered breakfast up to their room rather than making the trek down to the Great Hall. There were also times where if the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower was between their last morning class and their first-afternoon class, that they'd also opt to take lunch in their room rather than walk all the way down to the Great Hall.

There were some limits, of course, such as the house-elves not being able to provide alcohol, even to those students who were of legal age to drink it. This was mainly because the staff didn't want anyone overindulging and getting hungover or being raced to the Hospital Wing with alcohol poisoning.

The house-elves were also not allowed to serve food to the house dormitories on days where attendance at a certain meal, usually dinner, in the Great Hall was mandatory. Although those were usually limited to certain holiday feasts and breakfast the morning after arrival. The latter due to it being the time when the students would get their class schedules.

Set into large niches along one wall were seven separate alcoves, all containing a single four-poster bed, a desk and chair, a nightstand, and a wardrobe. There were two shelves cut into the stone wall above the head of the bed and above the desk and four more cut into the wall next to the wardrobe, providing places for the students to store books, or other personal touches such as plants or family photographs.

Each alcove had a window, as well as a curtain along the side that opened into the rest of the room which could be closed for privacy. There was also a place for their trunks at the foot of the bed, which had all already been brought up by the house-elves. It was through this way that each boy knew which alcove was theirs, as their trunk had been placed in it.

Micheil and Finlay had said that if they really wanted to, they could switch, but if they did, they'd have to be sure to let the house-elves know so that their laundry got put in the right place. All students clothes did have name-tags, but the house-elves were usually pretty busy on laundry days, so unless they were made aware of a change, they'd still deliver the freshly laundered clothes to the wardrobe of the alcove that each student's trunk had been placed in at the beginning of the school year.

Of course, as all of the alcoves were exactly the same right down to the bedding on the beds—midnight blue cotton sheets and pillowcases with a plaid duvet in various shades of blue with bronze accents—none of them really saw a need to switch.

About the only thing that would be different was the view outside the windows, though being dark outside, one couldn't see very far right now. Micheil and Finlay, however, had said that Ravenclaw Tower had the best views out of all the houses in the school. They'd mentioned being able to see the Black Lake, Forbidden Forest, Quidditch pitch, Herbology greenhouses, and the surrounding mountains from most of the windows.

Tired from their train ride, all seven boys agreed to turn in for the night and save getting to know each other better for breakfast the next morning. It's not like there was any great rush. After all, they'd be rooming together for the next seven years, it was pretty much a guarantee that they'd get to know each other very well, especially since they'd be showering together.

-o-0-o-

_**2 September 1991…**_

At twenty minutes to five the next morning, Hadrian woke up and throwing off his covers, swung his legs off his bed, put his feet in his slippers, and headed out of his alcove to the bathroom. Once he'd taken care of his bladder's pressing needs, he made his way back to his alcove, closed the curtain, and opened his wardrobe.

For the last six months, Hadrian had gotten into the habit of going for a morning run for about an hour every morning before eating breakfast. At home, it was always him and Darius, along with Sirius and Remus. Vernon joined them about two times a week.

Their other friends who lived in the neighborhood—Piers, Kevin, and Wayne—also frequently joined them, just not every morning. They averaged about three to four days a week, rather than all seven without fail. Although they'd each said they'd like to increase the number of days per week they did it.

After pulling on a pair of light cotton workout shorts and a t-shirt, Hadrian sat down on his bed to put on his socks and running shoes. Finished, he opened his curtain and found Kevin exiting his alcove, also dressed and ready to go running.

"Joining me this morning?" Hadrian asked.

"Yup," Kevin said. "I heard you get up and I didn't really feel tired anymore, so, I figured might as well."

"What are you guys doing up so early?" came the sleepy voice of Stephen Cornfoot, as he sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Going for a morning run," Hadrian said. "I do it every morning and Kevin usually joins me three to four days a week."

"You know each other outside of Hogwarts?" Anthony Goldstein asked as he exited the bathroom.

"Yup, we live on adjacent streets in the same neighborhood," Kevin answered. "So, we've been friends for years now."

"Cool," Anthony said, before, after a moment of thought, he asked, "Mind if I join you?"

"Sure, the more the merrier," Hadrian said. "If you don't mind the fact that at least one Slytherin will likely be joining us since my cousin Darius runs with me every morning."

"That's fine," Anthony said, as he headed for his alcove. "Just give me a couple minutes to get dressed."

"Are you even allowed to go out this early?" Stephen asked.

Nodding, Hadrian answered, "Yes, I checked with Micheil and Finlay and they said it's fine. In fact, they're planning on joining us too, so we'll be with a prefect."

"Isn't it prefects?" Stephen asked.

"Technically, only Finlay was made a prefect," Kevin said, as Hadrian had already told his friends this. "But, since he shares everything from the neck down with his brother, the teachers made an exception and granted Micheil equal status."

"Yeah, Fin can't really do his prefect duties without Mic's help," Hadrian added.

"Fin? Mic?" Stephen asked. "You're friends with them too, I take it?"

"Yup," Hadrian confirmed, as Stephen nodded and got out of bed. "Well, I can't sleep anyway, so give me a few minutes to go to the bathroom and change, and I'll join you."

"You guys do whatever you want," came the sleepy and annoyed sounding voice of Michael Corner. "Just do it quietly. Some people are still trying to sleep."

-o-0-o-

About five minutes later, Hadrian, Kevin, Stephen, and Anthony left the first-year boy's dormitory and headed down to the common room. Upon arriving, they could see that Micheil and Finlay weren't down yet, so the others took seats in front of the fireplace while Hadrian went back to the stairs and climbed up to the tenth floor of the tower where the fifth-year boy's dorm was located.

Unsurprisingly, the door was closed when he arrived, but Micheil and Finlay had told him to just come in, so he did. Entering the room, Hadrian saw that the tower was laid out identically to his own dorm room, except that only four of the seven alcoves had curtains on them since only four of them were actually being used.

Without the curtains hanging on the rod that went across the entrance to the alcoves, Hadrian could see the wardrobe, desk and chair, nightstand, and bed of each. However, the difference here was that the bed was stripped down to the mattress, rather than having any bedding on it. There were also no trunks resting at the foot of the beds.

Of the four alcoves that were in use, three of them had their curtains closed, leaving only the one open. Going over, Hadrian immediately knew it had to be Micheil and Finlay's alcove because he could see their initials MFM and FMM engraved on the trunk on either side of the MacDougal coat of arms.

Micheil and Finlay shared a trunk because they honestly didn't see the point in getting two trunks when one would hold all of their belongings just fine. It's not like they could open and go through two different trunks at the same time anyway.

The house-elves had not been in to clean yet, so the bed was unmade and had clearly been slept in. Guessing they must be in the bathroom, Hadrian made his way over to the bathroom door and went in. It didn't take long for him to realize that none of the bathroom stalls were in use, which left only one place in the tower that they could be.

Hadrian hesitated outside the door to the shower area of the bathroom, as a part of him couldn't help but think that it would be wrong of him to just walk in while they were in the shower. Another, part of him, however, had always been curious about what they looked like without them as he'd never actually seen them without their clothes.

Even when they'd had pool parties on Privet Drive, Micheil and Finlay had always worn a t-shirt with their swim trunks, so he'd never even seen them without a shirt on before. His curiosity was purely innocent, of course, as while his Claiming had triggered certain parts of puberty, the sexual aspects of it had not been triggered and wouldn't be until he turned thirteen.

Making up his mind, Hadrian opened the door and walked into the shower room. He was pretty sure he blushed upon catching sight of Micheil and Finlay, who were standing there completely naked. They were leaning forward slightly, their back turned to him, and Micheil had his hand against the tiles, as Finlay moved his…

'_Oh gods,'_ Hadrian thought to himself, blushing crimson as he realized that he'd caught his friends jerking off in the shower.

He knew he should leave, preferably before they knew he was there, but for some unfathomable reason, he found that his feet no longer seemed to work. It's as if he'd stepped in a puddle of spilled glue because his feet wouldn't move. As much as he wanted to look away, he couldn't, and instead, he found his eyes drifting ever lower as he looked at every inch of what he could see of the twin's naked body.

It wasn't long before he noticed that they each had two magical creatures tattooed on their skin. Studying them for a moment, Hadrian tried to remember what they were from looking at pictures in _**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them**_, both the textbook version he now had and the children's picture book version he'd had for several years.

Calling up the images in his mind and what the books said about the creatures, he realized that Micheil had a Hungarian Horntail dragon on his shoulder blade and a thestral on the back of his thigh. Finlay, meanwhile, had a Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon on his shoulder blade and a thunderbird on the back of his neck, just below the hairline.

Hadrian's Ravenclaw mind immediately started recalling everything he could remember about the two animals, even as he started wondering just why Micheil and Finlay had gotten tattoos and if their parents knew or if they'd snuck out and gotten them behind their backs.

One other thing he noticed was that Micheil's thestral was just a faint gray outline, while the horntail, along with Finlay's ironbelly and thunderbird were vibrant full-color depictions. He couldn't help but wonder why Micheil's thestral was so incomplete looking in comparison to the others.

Micheil and Finlay moaned loudly, as Hadrian heard Micheil moan a name half a second before Finlay followed suit. Hadrian's blush deepened as he realized that the names they'd said were Kaidan and Karter.

Hadrian's eyes widened and he could feel his blush getting even worse, as Micheil and Finlay made indecipherable moaning sounds, seconds before several streams of a stringy white substance that Hadrian realized was cum became visible between their legs, hitting the tiles of the wall and floor, the water washing it down the drain.

'_I'd better get out of here,'_ Hadrian said, as he knew from the sex talk that cum meant they were almost done and if he didn't want to get caught watching, he had to move now. Much to his relief, he found his feet were working now… except in his haste to get away before he was caught he turned around a little too fast and overbalanced himself in the process.

'_Oh shit,'_ Hadrian thought, as he found himself falling face-first onto the floor.

The noise obviously drew Micheil and Finlay's attention, as they turned their upper body enough so that Finlay could turn his head and look behind them. "Hadrian?" he asked, as he saw his friend sprawled out on the floor in the doorway.

Micheil turned off the shower and grabbed a towel from the nearby towel rod, which he and Finlay wrapped around their waist before they turned around and came closer, at which point they noticed that Hadrian was lying on the floor, and there was a small stream of blood trickling away from his head.

Quickly coming over and inspecting their friend, they found him dazed and clearly embarrassed… he wasn't the only one… but otherwise okay, except for a small cut on his forehead about two inches to the left of his famous scar.

Helping Hadrian to his feet, Micheil and Finlay led him out of the bathroom and over to their alcove, pleased to note that none of their dorm mates were awake yet as their curtains were all still closed. Of course, they were all late risers in the twins' experience, usually not getting up until about half-an-hour before breakfast was due to start.

Sitting Hadrian down on their bed, Micheil reached over to the shelf above the bed and grabbed his wand. Waving it in front of Hadrian's face, Micheil quickly cast two spells in rapid succession, one to heal the small cut and the other to clean up the blood.

Finlay, meanwhile, pulled the curtain shut and used his own wand to put up a Silencing Charm. He then proceeded to cast a series of Drying Charms, since he and Micheil hadn't taken the time to towel off after their shower, as they'd been more concerned with Hadrian at the time.

Spells cast and Hadrian's forehead healed, Micheil sighed, "Not exactly the way I saw our shower ending, but, oh well."

"I'm sorry," Hadrian mumbled.

"It's okay, Rian," Finlay said. "We're not mad. It's not like we have anything that you don't have and you're certainly not the first person to see us naked."

Micheil nodded before he and Finlay moved over to their wardrobe and opened it, using the door to give themselves a modicum of privacy as they grabbed a pair of underwear and dropped their towel before putting them on.

Since their roommates never got up as early as they did, Micheil and Finlay had gotten into the habit of jerking off during the first of their morning showers.

They took two because they'd been going for a morning run for the last two years, but they'd always been unable to function in the mornings without a shower. Just like Vernon needed his cup of morning tea to cease looking like a zombie, the twins needed a shower.

Thus, they ended up showering a second time after they got back from their run, by which point their dorm mates we all awake. Since none of them were early risers, however, and they were jerking off, they usually locked the door to the shower room during their first shower of the morning.

"So, you saw us showering," Micheil began, as he turned his head towards Finlay, even as they pulled on a pair of workout shorts, and said, "Since somebody forgot to lock the door."

"Why is it my fault?" Finlay asked. "You could have locked it."

"Because I asked you to and you said you would," Micheil pointed out. "And in case you forgot, my hand was full, as I was carrying our new bottle of shampoo."

"Fine, I screwed up," Finlay said. "Happy?"

"Not particularly but there's nothing I can do about it now," Micheil said.

As the twins fell silent for a moment, as they looked through their shirts to see which one they wanted to wear this morning, Hadrian, having gotten over his embarrassment, said, "You're wrong, by the way."

"About?" Finlay asked, as he tilted his head pas the wardrobe door and looked at Hadrian.

"About not having anything that I don't have."

Micheil chuckled and said, "Well, I guess that's true enough, as you don't have two heads unless you count the one between your legs."

Rolling his eyes, Hadrian said, "I meant your tattoos, you jackarse."

"Hadrian, language," Finlay chastised in his best prefect voice, before he asked, "Tattoos? What are you talking about?"

"The thunderbird, dragons, and thestral."

T-shirt in hand and dressed enough to be presentable, the twins closed the wardrobe door and moved to sit next to Hadrian on the bed.

"Those aren't tattoos," Micheil said as they pulled their shirt on over their heads. "They're soulmarks."

"Soulmarks?" Hadrian asked, having never heard of them before.

"I suppose your aunt, Sirius, and Remus were probably going to tell you closer to your thirteenth birthday," Finlay answered. "That's when a witch or wizard's soulmark generally appears. They can appear later in life, but the vast majority of the magical populace get them within about ten to fifteen minutes of the thirteenth anniversary of their birth."

"Some people don't have one," Micheil added. "They're referred to as being markless, although that's believed to be pretty rare. Anyway, a soulmark is a mark that denotes that the person who has it has a soulmate. The more romantic people of this world would tell you that your soulmate is the one great love of your life that you're destined by the Fates themselves to be with and that you should save yourself for them."

"There's a very big problem with that idea, however," Finlay said. "In that many people never find their soulmates, as its entirely possible that they don't even live in the same country. They could live on the other side of the world in a country that you're highly unlikely to ever visit."

"There's no spell to locate them?" Hadrian asked.

Shaking his head from side to side, as he put his leg on his brother's knee so that they could put on one of their socks and shoes, Micheil said. "No, there isn't. The only way to find one's soulmate is to physically touch them and even then it has to be skin on skin contact."

"It also doesn't work unless both members of the soul pair are at least thirteen years old and have their soulmarks," Finlay added. "The marks have to match completely. Not only the animal or creature and location on the body, but they also have to be in the exact same pose."

"So, if you met somebody who had a thestral in the same place as Micheil," Hadrian said, "but the heads were facing in different directions, that means you're not soulmates?"

"Correct," Micheil said, as he put his foot down and Finlay copied his previous action so that they could put on their other sock and shoe.

"I take it there's some sort of significance with the coloring? I couldn't help but notice that the two dragons and the thunderbird were vibrant full-color, while the thestral was just a faint gray outline."

"Yes, they're faint gray outlines when you first get them," Finlay explained. "And they stay that way until you meet and touch your soulmate, at which point they'll darken to more distinct black outlines… or white if your skin is dark enough that a black outline would be hard to see against it."

"Full-color means that you've not only found your soulmate," Micheil said, "but bonded with them." Blushing slightly, he coughed and said, "Which requires you to be in love and have sex with them."

"Ah, I see," Hadrian said. "Kaidan and Karter?"

Nodding, Finlay said, "Yes. Kaidan has a horntail that perfectly matches Micheil's and a thunderbird that matches mine. And Karter has the twin of my ironbelly."

"So, Kaidan is a soulmate to both of you," Hadrian said. "Karter is Finlay's soulmate, and Micheil still has a soulmate out there somewhere that you haven't met."

"Yup," Micheil said. "So does Karter, actually. Anyway, we should get going on our run. Anyone else joining us?"

"I'm sure Darius will be waiting for us in the entry hall," Hadrian said. "And Kevin, Stephen, and Anthony are waiting for us in the common room."

"Cool, well, let's not keep them waiting," Finlay said, as he held out his arm so that Micheil could attach the holster holding his wand to Finlay's arm before Finlay attached his to Micheil's.

Some people opted for a spring-loaded holster that could eject their wand into their hand, but Micheil and Finlay preferred holsters that kept their wands on their off-arms, which in their case happened to be each other's arms.

"If you have any other questions about soulmates," Micheil said, "you can ask us later via the journal."

Hadrian nodded before Micheil waved his wand and ended the Silencing Charm before Finlay pushed open the curtain, and they left the dormitory.

-o-0-o-

Collecting the others, the Ravenclaw group made their way down to the ground floor, arriving in the entrance hall only seconds before Darius came up the steps from the dungeons, accompanied by Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini. Not long afterward, Wayne came up the stairs that led down to the kitchens and the Hufflepuff dorms, accompanied by Ernie Macmillan and Cedric Diggory.

After a few quick introductions were made for those who didn't have an eidetic memory like Hadrian and couldn't remember everyone's name and face from the Sorting Feast the previous night, the group decided they might as well take advantage of the deserted entrance hall and do some stretches while they waited for the Gryffindor group to arrive.

It was about five minutes later that Hadrian caught movement out of the corner of his eye, but it turned out to not be the Gryffindors, but the caretaker, Argus Filch, and his cat, Mrs. Norris.

"Well, well, what have we here," Filch said, as he rubbed his hands together in a rather menacing looking way. "Students out of bed."

"With all due respect, Mr. Filch," Finlay said, "there's nothing wrong with that." Holding up his hand when it looked like Filch was going to argue, he said, "A, they're with a prefect," as he motioned to the golden prefect's badge pinned to his and Micheil's shirt.

"And B," Micheil added, as he motioned towards the clock on the wall, "if you didn't notice, it's after five in the morning, so curfew ended fifteen minutes ago."

"And C," Hadrian said, "it's outside of school hours and they're all in the company of a Grand Duke."

Filch's eyes widened slightly, as he saw Hadrian. Bowing he said, "My apologies, I didn't see you, Your Most Royal Highness." Despite his words, he did grumble slightly, before asking, "May I ask why you're loitering in the entry hall at this hour?"

"We're going out for a morning run," Micheil said. "Some of the Gryffindors are joining us, so we figured we'd do some stretching until they got here."

"And here they are," Finlay said as he looked up the stairs behind Filch and saw Piers Polkiss coming down the stairs, along with Neville Longbottom, Percy, Fred, and George Weasley, and Kaidan and Karter.

Mrs. Norris had already lost interest before the Gryffindors appeared and had slinked off down a nearby corridor. Filch just sighed and followed her as the Gryffindor group stepped down from the stairs.

"Morning all," Percy said with a smile. He may be the serious and bookish type, confounding more than a few as to why he wasn't placed in Ravenclaw, but he still exercised. He alternated between joining Fred and George for their morning run and going to the weight room in the gym. This morning he decided to go for a run.

"Morning, Perce," Micheil said, as he and Finlay moved past him and the other Gryffindors to Kaidan and Karter and pulled them into a kiss.

Normally, Percy might have taken issue to such a public display of affection, as it was technically against the rules, but he chose to look the other way when it came to his dorm mates since he knew that Micheil and Finlay were their bonded soulmates.

It was after Micheil ended his kiss with Kaidan and Finlay with Karter—and they'd moved slightly so that Finlay could kiss Kaidan too—that the two sets of twins moved where the others could see them. They'd been at the back of the group of lions and thus Hadrian and the first years from the other houses hadn't gotten a good look at them.

Now, however, they did and most of their jaws were on the floor.

"You're not identical," Wayne said, as he blinked his eyes in disbelief as he looked at Kaidan and Karter, who were conjoined the same way that Micheil and Finlay were, sharing everything from their necks down.

"And you have different skin colors," Kevin said, as he tried to wrap his mind around what he was seeing. At this point, having met Micheil and Finlay previously, and Neall and Niall, he was used to conjoined twins. But they'd all been identical, unlike Kaidan and Karter.

"I know, it must be a bit jarring for somebody who's never seen our kind before," the white twin said. "I'm Kaidan Shacklebolt."

"And I'm Karter Shacklebolt," the black twin said. "And yes, we're mixed-race fraternal conjoined twins."

Kaidan had brown hair and blue eyes, while Karter had black hair and brown eyes. Still, it was Kaidan's white skin and Karter's black skin that had caused the biggest amount of shock in those among the group who had never seen them before.

Theodore, Blaise, Ernie, and Anthony were all purebloods from noble families, so they knew, intellectually, that fraternal conjoined twins could exist in the magical world, but they'd never met any before now. So, it was jarring, especially when the first set they met was so obviously not identical.

"How?" Hadrian asked. "I was under the impression that conjoined twins were always identical, having resulted in a single fertilized egg that failed to split completely in two."

"That is the normal process, yes," Kaidan said. "However, in magical twins, it's also possible for fraternal twins to be born conjoined if one of them was in danger of being stillborn."

"Essentially, the magic of one twin," Karter added, "locks onto the magic of the other twin while they're still in the womb and they get fused together to save the life of the twin that would have otherwise been dead at birth."

"The joining is so complete," Percy said, "that it's impossible to tell which is which. So Kaidan and Karter have no idea which one of them was in danger of being stillborn, just that one of them was."

"Not knowing is a good thing, when you think about it," Finlay said. "In this way, neither of them can hold literally saving the life of their twin over the other's head."

Nodding, Kaidan said, "Yes, to be honest, even if there was a way to find out, I wouldn't want to know."

"Neither would I, honestly," Karter agreed. "Anyway, as for our different skin colors, our fathers, Leo and Shawn Shacklebolt, are a mixed-race couple. Kaidan more strongly resembles Shawn, while I take after Leo."

"Fraternal twins with different skin colors are a possible result of a mixed-race couple having children together," Micheil explained. "It's just very rare, even in the magical world, for that possibility to be combined with fraternal conjoined twins."

"Even with conjoined twins being more common in the magical world compared to the muggle world," Percy said, "most sets are identical. Less than five percent are fraternal."

Grinning, Karter said, "I guess that makes us special."

"You'll get no arguments from us," Finlay said, as Micheil nodded.

Everybody laughed before some more introductions were done and the Gryffindors did some stretching along with the others before they opened the front doors and headed out on their run, choosing to circle the lake since Theo told them that even though it was only the first day of classes, the Slytherin team had already booked the pitch for an early morning Quidditch practice.

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

And there you have Ch9 of "The Seventh Olympian". So, Hadrian has finally met Kaidan and Karter and they're rather unique, to say the least. We also learned about soulmates and soulmate-identifying marks. And got our first look inside Hadrian's new home for the next seven years.

I'll probably be switching focus to one of my other stories now that I've posted three chapters of this in a row. Not sure which one right now, but I guess we'll see.

Also, I would just like to say that while I truly do appreciate each and every one of my loyal readers and reviewers, I would ask that you please do not leave reviews on any of my works that have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the story that you're reviewing.

I've gotten several reviews in the last couple of months which expressed disappointment that I'd updated one story over one of my others that the reviewer apparently likes more. And even a few where they asked me to update a specific story in a review on a different one and didn't say anything at all about the story they were actually reviewing. Maybe I'm crazy, but I find that annoying and annoyance doesn't breed creativity or inspiration, both of which are needed if you want any updates at all.


	11. Chapter 10

The Seventh Olympian

Written By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Ten

-o-0-o-

_**2 September 1991…**_

Following their morning run, Harry and his housemates returned to Ravenclaw Tower and showered. There was much blushing in the shower room this morning, as all seven of the first-year boys ended up showering at the same time. Even though they were all steadfastly trying to keep their eyes to themselves, they were still embarrassed.

Finally, having enough, Harry cleared his throat and while he didn't look at any of his housemates, he said, "This is kind of ridiculous, you know. We're all boys here so it's not like any of us has anything that all of us haven't seen before."

With a nod, Kevin added, "True, and seeing as how we're likely going to be doing this every morning for the next seven years, we should get used to it."

"You're probably right," Terry allowed. "I think this being the first time though, it was to be expected."

"Give it a few days, maybe a week, though," Michael added, "and I should think it'll get better."

"I sure hope so," Harry said. "As I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather not be blushing in embarrassment every day for the next seven years."

"Neither would I," Stephen said, chuckling a bit. "But, I think it'll be fine. Eventually, it'll become second nature and we won't even care."

-o-0-o-

By 7 AM, all seven boys in Ravenclaw House's first-year class, along with the seven girls, all took their seats at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall. Micheil, Finlay, and Penelope had accompanied them downstairs, answering questions as they walked.

As such, they knew that breakfast was served for thirty minutes, starting at 7:05. On this particular morning, they'd be given about fifteen minutes to eat before the Heads and Deputy Heads of House began handing out the timetables which would tell them when all their classes would be.

"Well, at least I already know that I'll have two free periods," Hadrian said. "Since I tested out of Wizard Studies."

Hermione, who was seated across from Harry nodded. "I still can't help but wonder if that was a mistake."

"Oh come on, Hermione," Kevin said. "How could it be a mistake? You got a perfect score on the test, meaning you already knew everything the class could teach."

Nodding, Hadrian said, "Yes, don't you think it would be a waste of time to attend a class that can't teach you anything because you already know the material?"

From his place sitting to Harry's right, Finlay said, "I'm sure you can find better things to do with that time, Hermione. Even if it's just to do some of your assignments for your other classes."

Hermione finally nodded, as she said, "Yes, I suppose you're right."

"What do you mean that you tested out of Wizard Studies?" Stephen asked.

"I lived in the muggle world with my witch aunt and muggle uncle," Hadrian said. "And I've been getting private lessons on pretty much everything that Wizard Studies would teach for a few years now."

"Same here," Kevin said. "Harry got Hermione and I, and a couple of our other friends, into his private lessons with Lord and Lady Black, Lord and Lady Flamel, and Pollux and Irma Black. Hermione and I are muggleborn, so we certainly didn't need Muggle Studies and we already knew everything that the compulsory version of Wizard Studies could teach us."

"So they tested out of the class," Micheil said. "Which basically means having the professor gives them an exam to test their knowledge. They all passed with flying colors."

"Wow, I didn't even know that was possible," Stephen said. "Of course, I know I'll be in Muggle Studies."

"Well, if you have any questions or need help with any of the assignments, I'll be happy to help," Harry said, as Hermione and Kevin nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Stephen said, with a smile.

Any further conversation was halted as the serving platters and bowls all along the table magically filled with a wide variety of breakfast items and everyone began filling their plates.

Fifteen minutes later, the Heads and Deputy Heads of House stood up, each levitating a large stack of parchment behind them. The Heads started at the end of the table closest to the head table, while their deputies began at the side closest to the Entrance Hall.

For Ravenclaw House, this put Professor Flitwick at the end of the table that Harry and his friends were seated at, while the head of the Dueling department, Professor Galatea Merrythought, moved over to the opposite end of the table.

"Just how old is Professor Merrythought anyway?" Anthony asked as he watched her walk past.

"I'm not sure of her exact age," Micheil said. "But I do know that she's over a hundred. She taught Defense Against the Dark Arts for nearly fifty years until she retired in 1945."

Nodding, Finlay added, "She came out of retirement in 1967 when the Dueling department was formed and has been teaching ever since. She's been Deputy Head of Ravenclaw House since 1982."

"Is it common in the wizarding world for people to still be working at that age?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Yes, it is," Penelope answered. "Professor Dumbledore is also over a hundred years old. Witches and wizards are longer-lived than muggles. One's health and magical reserves can determine how long a person can live, but it's not at all uncommon for witches and wizards to see the age of 150."

"Most witches and wizards aren't even considered middle-aged until they've reached their seventies or eighties," Harry said, as he knew that from his classes with his grandparents and steward.

What he didn't say, because he didn't feel like explaining to the muggleborns that both witches and wizards could get pregnant, was the child-bearing age was also longer. Where it was generally accepted that roughly age forty to forty-five was the limit for muggle women to get pregnant, in the wizarding world, it was much higher.

Eighty to eighty-five was generally considered to be the upper limit for most, although some could safely carry children even older, depending on their health and magical reserves.

Stephen nodded in agreement. "Grand Duke Theseus Scamander turns 103 this year and while he is the current eldest of the Grand Dukes, he's not the oldest sitting lord."

"Who is?" Oliver Rivers asked.

"Well, I can say that for House Goldstein," Anthony said, "My great-great-great-grandfather is the current lord and head. He celebrated his 186th birthday in March."

"Wow," Sally-Anne said, clearly surprised.

"Although, believe it or not, he's not the oldest sitting lord," Finlay said with a grin.

"He's not?" Oliver asked, clearly surprised.

Shaking his head, Harry said, "Nope. That honor actually goes to my senior vassal and steward, Lord Nicolas Flamel, the Duke of Pleinmont. You wouldn't know it to look at him, because he doesn't look a day over 27, but he turned 664 in June."

"664?!" Sally-Anne, Oliver, Mandy Brocklehurst, Su Li, and Lisa Turpin, all muggleborns or muggle-raised halfbloods, asked in unison, their shock clear in both their tones and faces.

"Is he a vampire or something?" Oliver asked.

"No, he's not a vampire," Harry said. "His life has been extended through magical means, but I'm not at liberty to say how."

"Aren't you supposed to be like royalty or something?" Oliver asked.

With a nod, Harry said, "Yes, I'm a Grand Duke and a Prince-Elector, but the means through which Lord Flamel's life has been magically extended is a Flamel family secret. As his liege lord, I know that secret, but I respect Nicolas enough to not reveal the truth or confirm any of the many rumors."

"And yet you confirmed that he's not a vampire?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah, he doesn't particularly care for that rumor," Harry answered. "So, he told me that I could dispel it if I heard it."

Harry was saved from any further questions by the arrival of Professor Flitwick with their schedules.

"Mr. Potter, here's your schedule," Filius said, as he handed Harry a sheaf of parchment, before handing more out to all the nearby students.

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said as he took the parchment and began perusing it.

He'd already known that Hogwarts observed a system of A and B weeks, in that the order of his classes would change from week to week. Being the first week of school, it was currently an A week. All classes were fifty minutes long, with five minutes between classes to get from one class to another.

Today was a Monday, so moving his finger across his schedule, Harry saw that he had three classes—History of Magic, Dueling, and Charms—before the fifteen-minute morning break at 10:25 AM. He then had Defense Arts—which used to be called Defense Against the Dark Arts until the class was renamed in 1967—and Transfiguration, before Lunch, which was from 12:35 to 1:05.

After Lunch, he had Double Potions, which was 105 minutes, as it was two class periods, plus the five-minute break between them. This was followed up by the fifteen-minute afternoon break at 3:00, and he had the last period of the day, 3:20 PM to 4:10 PM free due to testing out of Wizarding Studies.

For Tuesday, the first three classes of the day were the same, but after morning break he had Earth Science—which he was looking forward to since Remus taught it—followed by English. Geography and Maths replaced Double Potions, and he then had Magical Theory in the final time slot of the day.

Wednesday was the same as Monday, except for the final class period, in which he was scheduled for Geography again. Thursday then started with Latin, Magical Theory, and Mundane British History before the morning break, with Defense Arts and Transfiguration following it. After lunch, he had another free period due to testing out of Wizarding Studies, then Earth Science and Maths on either side of the afternoon break.

Friday was the same as Monday until after lunch when he had English, Latin, and finally Mundane British History after the break.

"There are classes on Saturday and Sunday?" Oliver asked as he looked at his schedule.

"Third years and older can have electives scheduled on Saturdays," Micheil answered.

"First-years only have Flying and Physical Education on Saturdays and Sundays," Finlay added.

"And those two classes are the only ones that can be scheduled on Sundays," Penelope revealed. "Also the Flying classes are only until the end of October. After that, you'll be down to only having Physical Education."

"I suppose from the supply lists, I should have expected it," Sally-Anne said, "but for some reason, I didn't expect there to be muggle classes at Hogwarts."

"They were added to the Hogwarts curriculum in 1952," Micheil said. "The Board of Governors weren't exactly thrilled, especially the pureblood members, but then Headmaster Armando Dippett thought they'd be a good addition. And Grand Duke Gervaise Ollivander, the father of the current Lord Garrick Ollivander, agreed with him."

"And since Hogwarts is located in the Ollivander's Grand Duchy of North Alba," Finlay continued, "and because the Ollivander Grand Duke has been Master of Education—the King's advisor on the Privy Council—for centuries, the Board grudgingly accepted the additions."

"Shortly after Gervaise died in 1979," Penelope added, "the Board of Governors tried to lobby Garrick to scrap them, but Garrick agreed with his father. And by then the other Grand Dukes had all added their support as well, so, at that point, there was pretty much no chance of getting rid of them."

"The classes do seem to have had a benefit, however," Micheil revealed. "In that Albion and Iwernia now has one of the lowest instances of breaches to the Statute of Secrecy in the world. Not getting fined by the ICW is always a good thing."

"The ICW?" Sally-Anne asked.

"The International Confederation of Wizards," Penelope replied. "Essentially the magical version of the United Nations, although far older since the ICW was founded in the 1600s."

"Cool," Oliver said, as everyone returned to perusing their schedules for a while.

After a few minutes, a curious Hadrian leaned closer to Finlay to get a look at the twins' schedule. Finlay smiled as he wrapped his arm around Harry and pulled him a bit closer as Micheil moved their schedule a bit closer so that Harry could see it better.

The first thing Harry noticed was that Micheil and Finlay while having several of the same classes as him, had different teachers. For example, Harry's Transfiguration professor was Thaddeus Bolton-Zabini, while the twins' was Gideon Prewett. Of course, Harry knew that many of the professors only taught for certain years.

For example, both Professors Flitwick and Merrythought only taught the sixth and seventh-year students for Charms and Dueling, respectively. In fact, the same could be said for all of the Heads and Deputy Heads of House, in that all of them were Department Heads for their various subjects who only taught NEWT students.

This freed up a large portion of their days for their house duties. Their classes were also scheduled with no overlap to make sure that even if, for example, Professor Flitwick was busy teaching a class, then Professor Merrythought would be available or vice versa.

Looking at the twins' Monday A-Week schedule, Harry noted that they had Charms, Defense Arts, and Transfiguration, and then Double Potions following the morning break. After lunch, they had Dueling, Physics, and Instrumental Music as their last class of the day.

"I see we have one teacher in common," Harry said with a smile.

Micheil nodded. "Yeah, Remus teaches all of the compulsory muggle science classes. So, Earth Science for first years, Biology for third years, Chemistry for fourth years, and Physics for fifth years."

"Second years don't have a science class?" Hermione asked, having overheard the conversation.

Shaking his head from side to side, Finlay said, "They have Health and Sex Education instead. Professor Miles Scrimgeour, who teaches first and second-year Physical Education, teaches that class."

"There are three other muggle science classes included in the Hogwarts curriculum," Micheil said. "But they're NEWT level electives: Medical Biology, Environmental Science, and Applied Physics. Very few people actually take them, however. Those who want to pursue careers as a Healer will usually take Medical Biology, but otherwise when given the choice, most students tend to focus on magical classes."

"Only the Medical Biology class has a full-time professor on staff," Finlay added. "The other two can sometimes go two or three years at a time without anyone signing up for them. So, they're offered but a professor is only hired to teach them if somebody actually signs up for the class."

"I guess that makes sense," Harry said. "Not much point in paying a professor to sit around and do nothing, because they literally have zero classes to teach."

Looking back at the twins' schedule, Harry noted that they had Latin as their last class of the day on Tuesdays. "I thought Latin was only compulsory for first and second years?"

"It is," Finlay answered. "Mic and I chose to take it as an elective, however. We might drop it in NEWT year though, to make room for something else. Not sure yet."

Nodding, Micheil added, "Yeah, we figured it was best to get through this year before we start worrying about our classes for next year."

"Makes sense," Harry said, as he continued to peruse the twins' schedule and noted their other electives. They also had Battlefield Medicine, Connective Magic, Elemental Magic, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures."

"What's Connective Magic?" Harry asked.

"It's a class that teaches two or more witches or wizards to jointly cast spells," Micheil said. "It allows one to cast more powerful and potent spells and rituals without as much strain on their magic since others are helping them."

Finlay nodded, as he added, "While it's by no means a requirement, as any student can take it, you'll find that pretty much every single set of conjoined twins enrolled has the class."

With a smile, Penelope said, "It doesn't matter if they're as closely connected as Mic and Fin or almost completely separate. All of them are still two people with two magical cores, so Connective Magic helps them learn how to work in concert."

Micheil grinned. "There are certain benefits, however, to being a conjoined twin in that class. While not impossible, it's almost completely unheard of for a non-conjoined witch or wizard to get the top spot for best in the class."

"Makes sense, I guess," Harry said. "I mean you and Fin have had to cooperate for pretty much everything your whole lives. So, where others might have to learn it, I'd imagine you've already got a good amount of skill in cooperation."

"Yeah, we do," Finlay agreed. "Obviously Mic and I and Kaid and Kart need to cooperate with one another far more than most, but it's a skill that most sets of twins like us, even the ones connected far less, have."

"I know Neall and Niall have only one arm each," Harry said. "So I suppose they have to cooperate more than most. And I know that Lord Fontaine's heir Crevan and his brother Finian are the same."

"Even the ones that are almost completely separate still need to cooperate," Penelope said. "For example, Brandon and Brendan Weasley."

Thinking back to his lessons in which he'd learned all about the various noble families—with particular focus on his vassal lords and their families—Harry asked, "They're Lord Weasley's nephews right?"

Penelope nodded. "Yes, they're the eldest sons of Claudius and Rafaella Weasley. Claudius is Lord Weasley's youngest brother. They finished Hogwarts this past July."

"As Penny said, they're almost completely separate," Finlay added. "They don't share any internal organs at all. They both have two arms, two legs, and two almost completely separate bodies. They're joined at the hip, but there are no bones involved. There's only a band of flesh and soft tissue joining them together. They can get just under a foot away from one another, stand back to back, and even turn to face one another and hug."

Micheil grinned. "They're big-time huggers, by the way, if you ever meet them. Though considering that you're their liege lord, they probably won't hug you without permission."

"It sounds like you're speaking from experience," Harry said.

Finlay nodded. "Yeah, we are. They're Ravenclaws too, so, we met. It's definitely interesting to be hugged from both sides at the same time, especially when you can feel the band of flesh that connects them."

With a shake of his head, Micheil said, "It's almost like a fifth boneless arm joining in on the hugging action."

-o-0-o-

Included with all of the first year's schedules was a map that showed them how to get from the Great Hall to their first class. For the first year Ravenclaws and Slytherins, this was History of Magic.

Since both the Great Hall and the History of Magic classrooms were on the ground floor, it didn't take long for them to reach it.

Arriving in the classroom, they found row after row of desks that were designed to seat two people. From upfront, their teacher, Professor Evangeline Murphy, said, "Sit anywhere for now. I'll be pairing you up in alphabetical order, one Ravenclaw and one Slytherin, to each desk once everyone is here."

Darius and Hadrian took a seat at one of the two-person desks near the front of the classroom, deciding to enjoy sitting together as long as possible.

Turning to his cousin, Darius asked, "So, who are we going to end up with?"

"You think I know?"

Rolling his eyes, Darius said, "Don't play dumb, Rian. I know you know. You and your perfect, eidetic memory."

Hadrian smiled and said, "You'll be paired with Michael Corner," and he paused here, as he ran down the class list in his head, and then said, "I'll be with Blaise Zabini."

"And Kevin and Hermione?" Darius asked.

"Draco Malfoy for Kevin," Hadrian said. "And Daphne Greengrass for Hermione."

Once the bell rang, Professor Murphy took roll call and found that everyone was present. When she finished she had everyone stand up and just as Hadrian had figured out since he could remember every single student's name from the Sorting Ceremony, Darius was paired with Michael, he was paired with Blaise, Kevin with Draco, and Hermione with Daphne.

Of course, there were three more Ravenclaws in the class than there were Slytherins, so Professor Murphy paired Padma Patil and Sally-Anne Perks together. Noting, however, that that would leave Lisa Turpin without a partner, the professor tapped her wand on a rune engraved on the top edge of Padma and Sally-Anne's desk. A second later, it expanded to seat three people, at which point she smiled and told Lisa to join the other two girls.

Returning to the front of the room, Prof. Murphy said, "Now, class, you should all have a copy of A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot. Please open your books to chapter one on page four. We'll be starting with the early history of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia, as it became after the withdrawal of the Roman Empire from Britannia."

-o-0-o-

Leaving the History of Magic classroom fifty minutes later, the first year Ravenclaws and Slytherins made their way to the nearest staircase to make their way up the two flights of stairs to the second floor where their Dueling classroom was.

Their professors, Logan, and Lucas Clarke were a pair of conjoined twins who were joined at the hip and had only three legs between them.

Once again they were all told to sit wherever they wanted for the time being but were then split up into pairs of two the same way that Professor Murphy had split them up. Thus they had the same partners as in History of Magic.

Of course, they didn't do any actual dueling, being the very first class, and instead spent the forty minutes left after roll call and assigning seats reading chapter one of Curses and Counter-Curses by Vindictus Viridian and learning the basics of a wizarding duel.

-o-0-o-

In Charms, Professor Davetta Shacklebolt had the class studying the theory behind the Levitation Charm. All of the students were a bit sad by the fact that the first class was a theory only class. They'd been hoping for a chance to actually use their wands, but alas, no such luck so far in the two classes, Dueling, and Charms, that had a practical component.

Following the morning break, which was technically 25 minutes instead of the 15 minutes it was said to be since it included two five-minute passing periods, one following the end of Charms and the other before the start of Defense Arts.

Speaking of Defense Arts, the class was also entirely theoretical. One difference, however, was the Professor Quirrell didn't do assigned seating and instead allowed the students wherever they wanted.

What was no doubt going to be the biggest problem, however, was that Professor Quirrell had a pronounced speech impediment. He stuttered so badly that most of the students could only understand every second or third word that he said, and even that was a challenge, as he added several unnecessary letters to most words. He seemed to always get stuck on the first letter of most of his words and repeated them several times before finally getting the word out.

For example, when he'd told them to open their textbook and read chapter one, it came out as, "P-p-p-please op-op-open y-y-y-your t-t-t-text b-b-book to c-c-ch-chapter one and r-r-r-read it s-s-s-s-silently."

To make matters worse, for Hadrian at least, he spent the entire lesson with a low-grade headache that seemed to emanate from his scar. Oddly, however, it seemed to go away almost as soon as left the classroom.

Transfiguration was next and Professor Bolton-Zabini sorted the students and assigned them seats the same way that they had been the first three classes of the day.

Hadrian thus found himself sitting next to Blaise Zabini again. Curious, Hadrian asked Blaise if the professor was related to him, which he answered that yes, he was. Blaise apparently had a half-brother named Wyatt Bolton, whose father was named Thackeray Bolton. He'd had two older sons, Thaddeus and Maximillian, from his first marriage before he married Blaise's mum.

Thackeray died in late December of 1976 when Wyatt was only about three weeks old. Thaddeus and Maximillian were 10 and 11 respectively, at the time. Since Thackeray had no brothers or sisters and his parents were dead, as were his first wife and her parents and siblings, Blaise's mum took in her stepsons and eventually blood-adopted them two years later, along with her new husband, Blaise's late father, who also blood-adopted Wyatt.

Thus, Wyatt, as well as Thad and Max, as they preferred to be called, took the surname Bolton-Zabini.

They spent their time in their first Transfiguration class studying the theory behind turning a matchstick into a needle. Hadrian, Darius, and several of the muggleborn or muggle-raised couldn't help but get a kick out of that. As all of their parents had always told them not to play with matches and yet at Hogwarts, it was their school-sanctioned first lesson in Transfiguration.

-o-0-o-

After lunch, the first-year Ravenclaws and Slytherins arrived in the upper dungeon for Double Potions with Professor Dylan Wells. However, when they arrived, they found Head Boy Plato Meadowes—a Gryffindor—leaning against the teacher's desk. He had a free period and had apparently been sent ahead to unlock the classroom for the first years. Professor Wells was nowhere in sight.

As the bell rang and the students sat down, Plato said, "Professor Wells will be unable to make it to class today. His husband, Professor Ridley-Wells went into labor during lunch."

There were a few confused murmurs at this, making Plato smile and say, "Yes, for the muggleborns and muggle-raised among you who didn't know, wizards can get pregnant."

"Are you going to teach the class then?" Stephen asked.

Shaking his head, Plato said, "No, Heir Cornfoot, I'm not."

Plato was the confirmed heir of Right Ancient and Noble House of Meadowes, the sworn vassal of the Uttermost Ancient and Most Noble House of Cornfoot, so obviously he recognized the son and heir of the Grand Duke that his family owed their allegiance to.

"I'm only here to watch all of you until the head of the Potions Department arrives to fill in for Professor Wells," Plato added. "Professor Wells did tell me what he was going to cover when he gave me the keys to the room, however, so while you wait, why don't you take out your books and read chapter one of Magical Drafts and Potions?"

The students nodded and took out their textbooks, where they found that chapter one covered the proper way to prepare potions ingredients. Such as the differences between cutting, chopping, slicing, and dicing, and the effects each of them had on a finished potion… including the effect if you used chopped ingredients in a potion that called for diced.

About seven minutes after the bell to start class, everyone jumped slightly as the door to the classroom suddenly opened so fast that it banged against the wall, as a tall, black-haired wizard in his early thirties walked into the room. He was dressed from head to toe in black robes.

"You're dismissed, Mr. Meadowes," Professor Severus Snape-Prewett said, as he made his way to the front of the classroom.

Nodding, Plato said, "I told them to start reading chapter one of their textbooks as that's what Professor…"

"I said you're dismissed," Severus said, angrily. "Five points from Gryffindor for talking out of turn. Now get out!"

Remaining quiet, Plato nodded and made his way towards the door, only holding out Professor Wells' keyring as he passed Severus. The professor roughly grabbed them and slammed them down on the nearby desk without a word.

Several of the students looked at each other, surprised, as they hadn't expected the professor to come in and take points from the Head Boy. They all wondered if perhaps Plato would just give himself or somebody else five points soon to make up the difference since as both a Prefect and the Head Boy, he did have the ability to do so.

Usually, the Prefects were only allowed to take points, but the Head Boy and Girl could also give points, as well as assign detentions with Mr. Filch or a student's Head or Deputy Head of House.

Once Plato had left the room and closed the door behind him, Severus looked at the class for a moment, before he said, "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect that you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its fumes, the delicate power of liquids coursing through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses…"

After a second's pause, Severus added, "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death… if you aren't as big a bunch of worthless dunderheads as most first years tend to be."

Needless to say, the class was all rather shocked by those words, as not a single one of them, including the Slytherins whose Head of House Severus was, could believe that he'd just said that. It was definitely a first, hearing one of their professors calling them worthless dunderheads.

Scanning the class, Severus spotted Hadrian and said, "Ah, Mr. Potter, our new celebrity. What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

As a Ravenclaw with an eidetic memory, Hadrian had no trouble answering, "A sleeping potion known the Draught of the Living Death."

Severus looked momentarily surprised that Hadrian knew the answer, but unperturbed he asked, "Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"The stomach of a goat, sir," Hadrian answered.

"And its use?" Severus asked.

"It'll save you from most poisons," Hadrian answered.

"The difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"There isn't any," Hadrian answered. "It's the same plant also known as aconite."

"Hmm, very well," Severus said. "Correct on all counts. 10 points from Ravenclaw for being an insufferable know-it-all and reading ahead in your textbook for material that's not covered until sixth-year!"

If the class had been surprised by the fact that Severus had taken points from the Head Boy, they were now even more surprised that he had taken points from Prince-Elector Hadrian Potter in such an insulting manner.

Even the Slytherins didn't laugh, as they usually might, as they couldn't believe that Severus would treat one of the Grand Dukes in such a manner… especially considering that he was married to a Prewett. The same House Prewett that were the sworn vassals of House Potter.

Things didn't improve for the rest of the class. Instead of teaching the class how to properly prepare ingredients as Professor Wells had planned, Severus pulled out his wand and put the recipe for the Boil Curing Potion on the blackboard.

When nobody moved, Severus asked, "Well? What are you all waiting for? An engraved invitation? Start brewing!"

The class quickly got out their cauldrons and potions ingredient kits and got to work. Of course, while some of them might know how to properly prepare their ingredients, many of them did not. A fact which seemed to delight Severus as he went around the room weighed dried nettles and crushed snake fangs and criticizing most of them.

Eventually, a cloud of acrid green smoke and a hissing sound filled the dungeon, as Kevin Entwhistle managed to melt his cauldron into a twisted mass of pewter, his potion dripping down to the floor and burning holes in people's shoes.

"Idiot boy!" Severus yelled. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking your cauldron off the fire."

Kevin didn't answer and just whimpered as boils started forming all over his hands and face.

"Mr. Cornfoot, take him to the Hospital Wing," Severus said, as Stephen stood up and helped his housemate out of the room.

After they were gone, Severus fixed an angry look at Hadrian and said, "You, Potter! Why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought you'd make yourself look even more like an insufferable know-it-all by making all your classmates look dumb in comparison? Five more points from Ravenclaw!"

"That's not fair!" Darius yelled.

"Shut up, Mr. Dursley," Severus said. "One point from Slytherin and detention with Mr. Filch tonight after dinner!"

Everyone—Ravenclaw and Slytherin alike—were very glad when the bell rang and they were all dismissed.

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

And there you have Ch10 of 'The Seventh Olympian.' I imagine Severus is going to be in some trouble next chapter…


End file.
